Another Gobuster Fanfic (Hiromu X Youko)
by Yamki
Summary: Here's another Gobuster Fanfic for Hiromu X Youko pair. Same setting (Post-Vaglass time). But I plan to emphasize the straightforwardness of the pair mentioned. So expect funnier scenes.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Going back in time (part 1)**

**Time Machine**

In the same floor where the buster machines were resting, Youko and Usada had just finished doing Youko's science project. They were supposed to return to their respective rooms, until Youko found herself staring at the time ranger's machine. The Special Missions had borrowed it from the Gokaigers (for the time being) to gather more data and thus create machines with the same time-transcending capability. Youko and Usada went inside to have a look.

"_kireii_ (it's beautiful)" Youko said while looking at the controls inside the said machine.

Youko was looking at the controls intently. Usada warned, "Youko-chan, don't touch anything or—"

Youko accidentally sat on the lever. She and Usada were transported back in time.

**Year 2008**

"it's the year 2008" Usada said while reading from an ad nearby, "come on Youko, let's go back to the time machine—"

Youko pointed to a figure a few meters away, "that one looks familiar".

She was pointing to a 17 year old boy who was dressed in a high school uniform.

"Hiromu!" Youko and Usada said together and then covered their mouth in hope that the 17 year old Hiromu didn't hear them.

"_Ureshii na_ (this is strange)" Youko said, scratching her temples. She decided to follow Hiromu in discreet, thinking that it wouldn't harm her anyway. Usada contested that if Hiromu saw him, he would suspect that they were from the Special Missions. So he contended to stay inside the time ranger machine in search of ways to go back to year 2013.

Apparently, Hiromu was about to go to school. Youko was cautious while following him inside the premises. Since Hiromu was a fast walker, Youko had to walk in the same pace too. When he vanished from the hallway, Youko groaned for having lost him.

A hand reached her shoulder. Youko froze in panic. She sighed in relief for wearing a cardigan. It did its job in hiding her morphin brace.

"why are you following me?"

Youko turned to see Hiromu, whose hands were at his sides. _They're the same! _ Youko said to herself.

"are you a stalker?" Hiromu asked, with a hint of coldness in his voice. Youko was quite surprised (she'd deny she was hurt) at Hiromu's aloofness.

"n—no I'm not!" Youko said. She was stammering while looking for the right excuses when Hiromu's _sensei_ got in the way. Sensei smiled at Youko and led her to the faculty.

**Physical Education Class**

It seemed that Youko was mistaken as an exchange student from the city. Apparently, Hiromu's section was expecting an exchange student. She was even asked to change to red sweater and jogging pants for the physical education class. In her way to the school gym, she was hoping that Usada would call her soon so that they could go back together to the present time.

But her dread was changed when she found out that Hiromu's section would be doing martial arts. She wondered why Hiromu was not participating. It seemed that he'd rather read a book than to spar with his classmates.

Youko heard from a tattle-tale that Hiromu was always the winner in martial arts. So it was Hiromu's decision not to participate anymore. Hiromu's sensei asked politely if there are contenders against their current champion. When no one volunteered, Hiromu said aloud, "sensei, I'd rather study than spar with those who aren't in the same level as I do".

Youko thought of his remark as too straightforward. It was very different from Hiromu in 2013—probably because the present Hiromu was now more immersed with people.

She didn't know that she remarked aloud, "pretty cocky, aren't you?"

Hiromu dropped his book and returned her gaze with a cold expression. He approached her and said, "I have more important plans to be concerned about". Youko thought he was implying about his burden as redbuster.

Even if Youko understood what Hiromu was implying about, her moodiness got in the way. She said, "then let's see how good you are for that important plan you're talking about, Hiromu"

The people in the gym gave an _oooh. _

Hiromu and Youko looked at each other with unyielding stares.


	2. Chapter 2: Going Back in Time Part 2

**Ch 2: Going Back in Time (Part 2)**

**Combat**

_I don't fight girls, but why does it sound like she knows something about me?_

17 year old Hiromu was calculating whether to proceed or not with the fight. There were two reasons why he was being pulled back: first, the opponent was a girl and second, it was not a simulation (or training) to begin with. Carrying on will only make the fight superficial. Plus, his combat training with Nick was the only simulation that he thought as genuine.

But he was starting to get suspicious, so he had to be discreet in investigating the identity of his challenger.

"I accept your challenge" Hiromu said indifferently

Youko and Hiromu positioned themselves in the center of the gym. Hiromu's classmates and their sensei sat anxiously at the benches nearby. The gym was as silent as an empty classroom. Only the passing wind and the noises outside can be heard.

After the defeat of Vaglass, Youko thought she had more advantage in combat training. So she deemed it necessary to show her actual fighting skills.

Youko attacked first with punches, Hiromu dodged and blocked some of it. Youko followed through with roundhouse and side kicks. Hiromu was able to block them also without using his superhuman speed.

Hiromu attacked in a combination of punches and kicks. Youko was successful in dodging and blocking them. For two minutes, the simulation appeared to be a deadlock. The two contenders paused for a while to ponder.

Hiromu thought, _she anticipated my attacks as if she had known my fighting style for so long. _On the other hand, Youko said to herself, _he has not used some of his special attacks yet…I wonder if he's just toying with me. _She decided to use her superhuman ability in her next attack.

The two contenders met at the center again with the same series of attacks. But Hiromu didn't anticipate that Youko will use her powerful jump. She jumped and rolled in the air and caught Hiromu by his back. Her arm locked his chin well. Youko felt strange to lock him—it was as if she was hugging him by surprise.

Hiromu's classmates cheered at Youko's attack. Hiromu felt humiliated. His competitive nature took hold of him.

He used his super human speed to release himself from Youko's lock. Both contenders used their super human abilities while fighting their best. Youko finally saw a familiar side from him—the endeavor to win and _shut her down_. However, Youko had the advantage because of her fighting experience with Vaglass; and to mention also the subdimension training that she and the others had with Jin-san. So the last attack was by her, by pinning him down successfully on the floor.

Their faces were only a few inches away from each other and Youko felt unnaturally awkward. Hiromu's eyes were glued on her wrist. He saw a glimpse of Youko's morphin brace. On the top of that, Youko's morphin brace rang.

Youko panicked and released him. Hiromu saw this as a chance and grabbed Youko's wrist. But he had pulled greatly that she fell on the top of him.

Hiromu's sensei intervened to stop the fight. She declared it as a draw. Youko immediately excused herself and ran towards the exit. She said to herself, _why did you call now, Usada? I'm sure he suspects that I'm from the Special Missions!_

**Going Home**

"_Youko, let's go home. Ryuu-san has a marker prepared for us already."_

Youko was running towards the school gate, "But Hiromu saw my morphin brace! What am I going to do Usada?"

"_The time machine has a weapon that will erase the memories of the persons you've met there, Youko"_.

Sighing in relief, Youko said "yokai" and dropped the call.

She had only advanced in five steps when Hiromu called out to her.

"are you related to the important plan that I've been preparing for years?" Hiromu asked

_Haha, how innocent, _Youko said to herself. She turned to him and made a face. Hiromu thought how dense it was.

"you'll soon forget about what happened today, then you can save your face from defeat". Youko was implying about the effect of the time machine on the people that she had encountered that day.

With enthusiasm, she ran towards the forest and vanished from Hiromu's sight.. Hiromu was left standing by the gate with his hands on his sides.

Meanwhile, a twenty three year old young man and a twelve year old girl passed by him. Hiromu was already walking towards the gym that he didn't hear what the two people were talking about.

"what are we doing here on the country side?" the eleven year old girl asked

The twenty three year old patted the girl's head and smiled, "we will train here later, Youko. Let's check the enetron tank first, ne?"

**Youko and Usada's Return**

Even if it was a short visit back in time, Youko was sure entertained. She was glad that everyone she met on that day will have their memories erased (although she greedily hoped that Hiromu wouldn't forget his defeat). They returned at the base and received worried stares from the Special Missions.

Nakamura-san welcomed Youko with a hug. Gorisaki, Nick and J huddled at Usada and threw questions every now and then. Youko apologized to Commander Kuroki and Ryuuji and made a promise never to touch the time machine again.

Youko was alone when she walked towards her room. She didn't expect to see Hiromu waiting at her door.

Hiromu put his hands on his sides and stared anxiously at her, "daijobou?".

Suddenly, Youko had an idea. She said, "Let me check something".

She attacked Hiromu using her punches and kicks. She used her superhuman jump to distract him while she tried to lock him down. However, Hiromu was too quick for her and finished the diversion by locking her fist.

Hiromu was smiling widely at her.

It was by that gesture that Youko realized how different Hiromu had become. Hiromu was still straightforward, but at least he knew how to smile.

And his smile was too likeable that Youko couldn't forget when their faces were so near with each other during the combat. _Baka, baka, baka! _Youko said to herself, brushing away that thought. She was swatting in the air as If she's whacking mosquitoes. She excused herself and hurriedly went inside her room.

Hiromu was left with his hands on his sides.

"chotto—" he said, contemplating aloud on his familiarity with Youko's clothes, "that's my highschool uniform!"


	3. Chapter 3: Hearts Day, Everyone?

**Ch 3: Hearts Day, Everyone?**

Around the world, hearts day is regarded as among the anticipated festivities. In Japan, girls usually give letters or homemade items such as pastries and accessories to boys that they like. Oftentimes, girls (mostly in highschool) use this as an opportunity to confess their feelings. Youko Usami hadn't given a thought about this. In previous years, Hearts day had always been nonexistent in the Special Missions Calendar, probably because of all the training spent to defeat Vaglass.

In Youko's school, Hearts day was taken seriously. Classes were forfeited in exchange for setting up of booths, playing of couple games, and the like. Youko was never accustomed with such festivity (she thought how strange it was for a while), but she preferred it rather than doing school work. She watched alone from a bench while her classmates were frolicking at the school grounds.

She decided to call Ryuuji through her morphin brace.

"Ryuu-san, how do you celebrate Hearts day in school?" asked Youko

"_Ah, the wonder of youth!" _Ryuu-san exclaimed, _"guys pretty much don't do anything, they just wait for gifts and confessions. But they have to reciprocate during White Day. That's next month." _

"I'm not required to follow, ne Ryuu-san?"

"_Well, hearts day is not only for couples. Before our encounter with Vaglass, Usada taught you to make sweets for Commander Kuroki and me right?"_

Youko remembered how two years ago she made homemade chocolate bars for Commander Kuroki and Ryuuji. She had an enetron given to Usada since the buddyroid was not allowed to consume human food.

Being decisive that she'll just do the same routine years ago, she said, "Sou-desu. We don't have classes right now, I can go back to the base already and make something for all of you".

"_I'll look forward to it then."_ Ryuuji said, "_But while you're at it, prepare something for Hiromu as well."_

Ryuuji dismissed the call as if his break time had already ended.

_Hiromu?_ Youko's thoughts about Hiromu began. She recalled that she hadn't given him anything for Hearts day during their fight with Vaglass.

**Confusion**

Just as when Youko was preparing her things in order to leave early, a group of excited girls surrounded her. She was amused to see them donned with paper hearts all over their uniform.

"Youko-chan, are you leaving already?"

"isn't there someone you like?"

Series of questions were thrown at her as if they found her abnormal for not finding someone she liked in school.

Before she could answer, she was distracted on the spot to see Hiromu, Nick and Rika-san distributing books to highschool girls from a booth. Apparently, Rika-san had drawn something about Valentine's day and she's offering a good price for her books.

Youko hoped that Hiromu wouldn't see her. Yesterday, she pestered him to help her in her assignments in exchange of a limited edition gobuster card that she got from a cereal box.

As luck had it, Hiromu did see her. He waved at her from afar. Youko puffed her cheeks and muttered, "uzo! He'll pester me this time". She turned her back from him and pretended to be looking for something inside her bag.

"Hiromu-san is waving at you, Youko-chan" a classmate said, giddily

Another classmate added, "Tell us, Youko-chan, you like him don't you? That's why you don't have a gift prepared for a boy in our school"

Youko was not listening to their teasing. She was thinking where she placed the limited edition gobuster card at home. Her classmates' teasing grew louder when Hiromu was walking towards them. _No, no, no don't come closer! _Youko said to herself while gripping her bag.

Hiromu stopped when he was a meter behind her. He bowed to Youko's classmates as an apology for his intrusion and waited for Youko to face him. Youko's classmates stepped back but were still eavesdropping.

"I thought you'll give me something today" Hiromu said. Youko's classmates thought he was asking for his hearts day gift from Youko and suspected that she really liked him. What they didn't know was he was asking for the limited edition gobusters card.

Youko turned around to face him. Her cheeks were all pink from embarrassment. With a hint of frustration in her voice, she said, "I'll give it to you later, siscon. It's in my room. And for your information, it's in a mint condition"

Youko's classmates thought she bought a gadget of the latest model as gift to Hiromu. What they didn't know was [that] Youko was implying that the card was still sealed.

Youko and Hiromu were looking at each other with unyielding stares.

Then a classmate intruded and asked Hiromu, "are you an important part in Youko-chan's life?"

Hiromu put his hands in his sides, "mochiron (of course). We went through many things together" He was implying of their ordeal together as gobusters. Youko's classmates giggled even more.

Youko made a face, "you won't be like that now without my help. You may be leading our relationship, but I'm still the sempai". She was suggesting here about her importance as a comrade. But her classmates thought she was emphasizing herself as his girlfriend.

Hiromu pointed his index finger at himself and said, "adult" and then pointed at her, "child. That's why you always ask me to do your homework"

"I'm not a child!" Youko retorted, crossing her arms.

She and Hiromu wondered why her classmates were giggling too much about their conversation.

**A Mistake**

Youko was making chocolate bars at the kitchen for Commander Kuroki, Ryuuji and Hiromu. Usada appeared to help her pack her gifts.

"Youko-chan, we're missing one wrapper for your chocolate bar to Hiromu" Usada said

"I have an extra inside my locker" Youko replied. Usada volunteered to get it and wrap the chocolate himself.

In a few minutes, Youko was able to give her gifts to Commander Kuroki and Ryuuji. Both promised to reciprocate her gifts during the White Day next month.

She was treading happily at the hallway until she saw Nakamura-san, who looked very worried while gazing at Morishita-san from one floor below.

"Nakamura-san, daijobou?"

Nakamura-san stammered from her standing position in surprise. Youko looked from Nakamura-san to the direction of Morishita-san and suddenly gained an insight. She asked if Nakamura-san liked Morishita-san. Nakamura-san nodded in reply, but added that she hasn't confessed yet.

Youko had been friends with Nakamura-san ever since the latter acted as her older sister. She thought of reciprocating what Nakamura-san did for her by helping her confess to Morishita-san. Seeing that Morishita-san was alone, an idea popped in her mind.

She excused herself for a while and returned with a paper, a marker and a bow and arrow toy.

"I'll be your cupid, Nakamura-san" Youko said happily as she wrote words on the paper using her marker.

The paper read:

I like you.

More than a comrade. :)

Nakamura-san appeared more uneasy, but Youko proceeded by inserting the arrow on the paper. She grabbed her toy bow and aimed it at Morishita-san.

_It was hearts day after all, nothing could go wrong, _Youko thought.

Out of the blue, a male figure appeared behind Morishita-san. His superhuman speed coincided with Youko's release of the arrow.

It was Hiromu. The arrow hit him on the back.

He calculated where the arrow came from and traced it to Youko. Puzzled upon Youko's gesture, he proceeded by reading the message on the paper. He read silently:

I like you.

More than a comrade. :)

His eyes widened in shock. He looked at Youko who was frozen on the spot as well.

He read the message again and looked back at Youko. He did it thrice.

On the top of that, Usada appeared beside him with a chocolate bar. It was the only chocolate bar wrapped in hearts. Earlier, Commander Kuroki and Ryuuji's chocolate bars were wrapped in stripes. There was a huge difference in the design-as if Hiromu was really special. But the real reason was Youko ran out of striped wrappers and Usada could only find the hearts wrapper from Youko's locker. Usada offered the chocolate bar to Hiromu and said, "Youko-chan made it for you".

Hiromu and Youko stared at each other with their mouths wide open and their eyes as round as Usada's.

"UZO!" both of them yelled.


	4. Chapter 4:At Odds

**CH 4: At Odds**

**Rejected**

Hiromu needed to approach Morishita-san to borrow data on their previous battles with the megazords. As a student-trainee at the Energy Management Center, he needed all the data he could get for his research so that he could secure a place (or job) at the said facility. He knew how to balance time for his two top priorities: training as a scientist-researcher at the facility and fulfilling his academic duties. This was expected from a genius like Hiromu Sakurada. He always knew how to approach tedious situations except for one thing—love proposals.

He accepted the chocolate bar from Usada and placed it inside his bag. He had to keep a straight face so that Youko wouldn't think that a genius like him could easily panic at confessions. For the paper, it remained neatly folded in his hand.

Youko jumped from the floor that she was standing on. Still donning a bewildered face, she grabbed Hiromu's arm and dragged him outside the building.

Now outside, she looked at him and marveled at how he was gathering his composure bit by bit.

At first, Youko couldn't utter any word except, "H—Hiromu"

She fell silent for a minute.

_Baka, baka, baka!_ Youko told herself. She slapped her face with both of her palms until she caught a sight of the paper from Hiromu's hand. Without hesitation, she took it and used it to cover her face.

"This message is not for you. I helped a friend relay her feelings to Morishita-san, that's all. _Demo,_ the chocolate, is yours. Ryuu-san asked me to make one for you.".

Hiromu removed the paper that covered Youko's face so that she could look straightly in his eyes.

He said bluntly, "that's a relief. Because you're not my type."

"_sou-desu_," Youko said smiling while nodding her head… until the words _because you're not my type_ registered in her mind. "HUH?". Her mouth fell open once more.

"you're like a little sister to me," Hiromu said approvingly, "besides, it will be really strange to be romantically involved with you. You're moody, impulsive and not serious in doing your homework"

When he said those words, he couldn't help but to burst in a chuckle. On the other hand, color was beginning to rise in Youko's face. Hearing the words moody, impulsive and not serious in doing homework sounded like an implication that she was being a child.

In fury, she slapped the paper in Hiromu's face and walked away from him (her steps as heavy and as loud as she wanted it to).

Hiromu was left wondering why Youko was angry at him. Looking at the time, he went inside the building to gather the materials he needed for his research.

**Pondering**

Annoyed, Youko marched in her room and took all her workbooks from her bag. She settled herself on a desk nearby and started solving problem sets. Her answer sheet had tiny holes because of the mighty grip from her pencil.

She realized that she can't answer some of them. Heaving a big sigh, she placed her chin flat on her worksheet and began playing with her pencil.

_Besides, it will be really strange to be romantically involved with you._

These words by Hiromu played inside her mind for a while.

**Hiromu Settles at the Base**

"I'll be staying here for a while, until my research is done" Hiromu explained while dining together with Ryuuji and the buddyroids. They were eating pasta, Youko's favorite dish.

"your college is just nearby afterall," Ryuuji said, "and you can still use your old room here. But I heard you needed to do a one week teaching assignment?"

Hiromu nodded in reply. Nick put a hand on his shoulder and said, "but you're a genius, you always finish ahead of time. Without flaws."

Ryuuji concurred with Nick's choice of words. Becoming conscious that Youko hadn't appeared yet, he asked Usada where she could be. Usada replied, "she's in her room, doing her homework."

Ryuuji accidentally dropped his fork. Hiromu on the other hand quickly cupped his glass of water after a sudden choke.

Youko appeared from the hallway with a workbook. Her eyelids were heavy and puffy from rubbing. She dropped the book beside her plate and took a seat beside Usada. She noticed Hiromu from the opposite side of the table and asked indifferently, "what are you doing here, siscon?"

"that's not the proper way to talk to your comrade, Youko-chan" Ryuuji said firmly, "he'll be staying for a while to do research as a student-trainee here"

Youko glanced at Hiromu's reflection in her fork. Hiromu noticed this little gesture and smiled at her. She turned her head at him and made a face.

"Youko," Usada began, "you need to do your homework alone, I'll be having a comprehensive check-up with the other buddyroids"

From an indifferent disposition, Youko suddenly became worried. She turned to Ryuuji to ask help. Ryuuji broke into a pitiful smile. "gomen ne Youko-chan, I have my deadline tonight as well."

Youko glanced at Ryuuji and Usada back and forth. _I'm so unlucky today, _she said to herself. Firstly, Hiromu told her that she's not girlfriend-material and secondly, Ryuuji and Usada won't be around to help her finish her homework.

"I'm done with my homework," Hiromu said "I'll drop by in your room later"

"no you're—" Youko didn't finish her sentence after seeing how many pages left she had in her workbook.

**Youko turns to sleep**

Youko wore her carrot-designed pajamas and instantly jumped on her bed to bury her face on a soft pillow. She did this while waiting for Hiromu who went for a bath before proceeding to her room. She paddled her feet like a duck, lulling herself to sleep.

A soft knocking was heard from her door and she told the person to come inside. Hiromu excused himself for his intrusion and went to sit on the floor next to the table containing Youko's books.

Hiromu looked around her room and said, "Your lights are dim. It's not conducive to studying."

Youko was not replying. Her thoughts were on something else.

Hiromu's eyes fell on a figure who was being tempted to doze off. He tugged her arm lightly, telling her to stay up for a while or else her homework won't be done. Youko sat up on her bed, rubbing her eyes and clutching her rabbit plush.

Realizing that Youko wouldn't sit on the floor with him, he brought the workbook to her bed instead. Her head was bobbing while Hiromu showed her a short cut problem-solving technique.

"I didn't know that'll come easy" Youko said, smiling and squinting at the same time. Hiromu continued teaching her of other problem-solving shortcuts until she was finished with everything.

"you're doing grea—" Hiromu stopped when Youko's head fell on his shoulder. He closed the finished workbook and tossed it lightly on the table. He burst in a fleeting chuckle and positioned her gently and properly on her bed. He made sure that she was tucked properly with her rabbit plush beside her.

Before leaving her room, Hiromu took another glance at her and said quietly,

"arigatou"

**Youko wakes up**

Youko stirred from her position and gently opened her eyes. She saw how she was properly tucked in with her rabbit plush by her side. She thought that only one person did it—and it was none other than Hiromu. And he was treating her like a child again._  
_


	5. Chapter 5: Hiromu Sensei

**CH 5: Hiromu Sensei**

**Beginning of the Class**

Youko leafed through the pages of her workbook to ensure that she did everything that was assigned to her. Last night, Hiromu proved to be a good tutor even if she was quite uncooperative. To Youko's amusement, he even left flash cards that contain shortcuts to problem solving. She closed her workbook, smiled and put a hand under her chin to balance it. However, the memory of Hiromu telling her that she wasn't his type made her face sour.

She regained her composure when the school bell rang. Instead of their first period teacher, a familiar figure stepped inside the room—donning a knitted red sweater over a white polo. Youko's female classmates giggled in their own seats because of their new teacher's composure and youthful looks. Youko on the other hand couldn't believe her eyes.

"I'm Hiromu Sakurada," Hiromu said, bowing low, "I'll be your substitute teacher for the next two periods." He explained further that he was both a college student and a trainee at the Energy Management Center. The Energy Management Center required him to do a one week teaching assignment to any affiliated school of the EMC.

"uzo!" Youko said too loudly that her classmates looked at her impishly. Hiromu glanced at her and gave her a short smile.

Hiromu proceeded with the first period—math. Without any copy, he began writing formulas on the blackboard. While explaining the formulas, Youko's classmates couldn't help but admire him. Youko just put a palm on her forehead and groaned resentfully.

**Approaching Hiromu Sensei**

The two periods finished with Youko's section feeling overwhelmed. Breaktime ensued and all of Youko's classmates went outside the room. Youko crossed her arms and approached Hiromu, who was erasing the markings on the blackboard.

"oi siscon, you never said anything about teaching here"

"Gomen. I thought you'll disagree with the facility's decision to send me here" Hiromu replied without looking at her

Youko didn't say anything anymore. Without saying goodbye, she proceeded to the door with her hands inside her pockets. Seeing that Youko didn't have anything with her, Hiromu glanced at her desk and confirmed to himself that her snack was just sitting there.

He hurried to the hallway to catch on her. Soon enough, Youko's insides grumbled and Hiromu was just in time to catch her. Her head fell comfortably on his shoulder as he locked her in a sudden embrace. The sight was too palpable that students took the opportunity to gossip.

Leaving an arm around Youko's waist, he pulled a wafer from his pocket and helped her consume it. With her strength returning, Youko moved away quickly from Hiromu's grip. Her cheeks were red from embarrassment that she had to look down while consuming the other half of her wafer. From the corner of her eye, she saw Hiromu's expression playing between frustration and worry.

"_g—gomen_" Youko said apologetically

"_daijobou_" Hiromu replied with a hint of content, "your snack's on your desk"

Youko nodded uncomfortably and walked slowly towards the classroom.

"chotto—" she said faintly

She gazed at the wrapper in her hand.

It was DEFINITELY not from her lunch bag.

It was Hiromu's.

And she was absolutely sure that Hiromu wasn't a fan of wafer biscuits.

**Going Home**

Hiromu was waiting for Youko by the gate even if the latter didn't ask to.

With her hand forming a fist on her heart, Youko tried to calm herself down. She fanned her warm face with her hand and tried to brush away the memory of Hiromu holding her close to him after she collapsed.

"_ikuzo" _Hiromu told her. Both his eyebrows were raised after seeing Youko in a contemplative position.

He took a book from his bag and hit her on her head.

"you don't have to be that serious!" Hiromu chuckled

Youko jumped back to her normal disposition. She grabbed her own workbook and hit his head with it.

"you could have gone home earlier" she said, while making a face.

**Getting Hiromu's Workbook**

Youko finished her science workbook and began working with her math. Some problem sets were left unanswered and Youko thought of only one solution to her predicament.

_I have to ask Hiromu, _she said to herself. Afterall, Hiromu's her teacher for that subject.

She glanced at her wall clock. It was past nine in the evening. She presumed that Hiromu was still awake because the latter would sleep beyond 10. She tiptoed outside her room in her pajamas. She had to be as silent as possible so that the employees wouldn't see her sneaking to a boy's room.

She approached the room and knocked gently on the door. Nobody was answering from the inside. She grabbed the door knob and was surprised to see that it was unlocked. Tiptoeing inside, she looked around the room. Nothing was lit to serve as her guide, not even a lamp or a night light. But by squinting her eyes, she could figure out how exactly Hiromu's room looked like. There was a desk near the window on the left, a low table at the center of the room and a bed beside the right wall.

Youko was sure that Hiromu kept his room tidy at all times. His workbooks and papers were neatly stacked on his desk and there was no litter to be seen anywhere.

Youko decided that she had to wake Hiromu even for a short while. She tugged his arm lightly, "Hiromu, wake up".

Hiromu didn't budge.

She tried to wake him up one more time, but he wouldn't do so.

Then she saw the math workbook near Hiromu's pillow. But it was placed at the right side that she had to pass by him lightly to get it.

Half of her body was only a few inches away from his. She stretched her hand and extended her body over him as discreet as possible. She had reached the workbook successfully. However, the hand with the workbook hit a bedpost.

Hiromu woke up. His reflexes acted by pinning Youko on the bed. He was now on the top of her, with his face only an inch away from hers.

"YOUKO!" he said, surprised.

Youko forced a grin and pointed the workbook in her hand, "Explain me this, will you?"

Hiromu released her and both of them sat up.

**10 PM**

Youko stretched her arms, "_yokatta!_" she said, looking at her finished problem sets. She closed her workbook and proceeded to the door. Hiromu followed. Youko turned around to look at him and laughed hysterically to see his hair spiked up in angles.

"your hair—looks funny!" she commented between laughs

Hiromu quickly covered her mouth and restrained her to the door.

He released his hand from her mouth and placed it on her shoulder. The other hand did the same.

And slowly, his face was drawing closer to hers.

Youko felt her face turning red and her eyes were as round as Usada's. She held her workbook tightly in a hug.

Closer and closer…

Until he diverted to the left side of her face and peeked at the eyehole of the door, which had the view to the hallway.

"Ryuu-san has left" he said with a smile and released her from his grip, "the hallway's empty now, you can go back to your room"

"_s—souka!" _Youko said, forcing a chuckle

She quickly covered her reddened face, grabbed the doorknob and walked briskly back to her room.

_Baka! You're not his type, remember? _She said to herself.


	6. Chapter 6: Gestures

**CH 6 Gestures**

**Laboratory Mishap**

Science—such a tricky period before recess.

But for Hiromu and Youko, staying at the lab was nostalgic. Their deceased parents were great scientists and were often seen researching and experimenting in the laboratories of the previous teleportation facility at the Dainan district. Hiromu thought that a laboratory experiment with Youko's section would be an interesting memory for his teaching assignment. For that reason, he brought the class to a laboratory at the east wing of the school building.

Hiromu demonstrated flawlessly about how Icelandic geysers erupt using a flask containing cacodyl chloride. He did this with great caution to prevent lab mishaps. After all, cacodyls chloride's a dangerous chemical that can cause permanent blindness.

In contrast, Youko was taking interest on a glass pipette while the class emulated what Hiromu did. She remembered how she made Ryuuji furious when she used the pipette as a stirrer for a glass of cold milk.

Hiromu noticed that Youko was playing with the glass pipette and a stopper. He removed his eye mask, walked towards her and put his hands in his sides.

"Stop playing like a child, Youko" he said firmly.

"I'm not playing, I'm trying something," she retorted, "and please, stop treating me like a child".

She was forcing the pipette in the hole of the stopper with her hand. She was using her whole strength as the pipette won't go through. Hiromu's eyes widened in aghast.

"Youko that's—"

_POINGK!_

The pipette flew and hit Hiromu HARD in the eye.

"HIROMU!" Youko bellowed

**At the Infirmary**

Hiromu felt how lucky he was that he won't be needing stitches. However, he had to sport a gauze pad in his right eye for a few days. His laboratory class had to be dismissed early, that's why Youko's section had an extended free time till recess. It was only his third day in his teaching assignment and he thought that partial blindness will do little to his overall performance.

Youko fidgeted while watching Hiromu from a distance.

"_d—daijobou?_" she asked nervously when the nurse went out for a while

"_mochiron" _Hiromu replied resolutely, "this does not par with the wounds we received while fighting Vaglass. On the other hand, I'm a bit disabled because of your impulsiveness."

_Impulsiveness,_ Youko thought. Such description was tagged to her memory of being "rejected" by him. But instead of getting annoyed by his straightforwardness, she felt more miserable.

"_gomen_" she said while looking down at her feet

Youko's face was all gloomy that Hiromu had to toss a tissue roll at her head.

"_daijobou_, I'm not angry at you" he chuckled, "but I'm feeling that the other side of my face is throbbing"

Youko's face brightened up, "_Souka,_ I remember Jin-san telling me that _okasan _does this when my face hurts"

She moved closer and put her hands in each side of his face. Hiromu jerked initially but remained still afterwards.

Despite Youko's nervousness, her hands were still warm. And it coincided with the sudden shift of her expression from apprehension to placidness. He thought that both her gaze and her gesture were soothing.

After some minutes, she removed her hands from his face.

"how does it feel?" she asked. She was expecting that her gesture somehow helped to distract him from the throbbing.

"Funny" he replied with a hint of amuse

"_doushite?_" she asked in return, her eyebrows turning into a frown.

Hiromu was about to reply when the nurse appeared. She came back with a new roll of gauze and jelly doughnut. Both items were given to Hiromu and the nurse disappeared again from their view to attend to a student who just turned up.

Hiromu gave the doughnut to Youko, "This is for you. I noticed that you haven't taken anything to boost your calories."

Hiromu had always been observant with Youko's calorie intake. Even during their heyday with Vaglass, he had been as obstinate as Usada. At first, Youko thought she was being implied of being forgetful but she just realized that he was being thoughtful.

"and to continue my answer earlier—"

The school bell rang as recess drew to a close. Youko let out a shriek and put the doughnut between her teeth.

"I have to go, _gomen_!" she said while biting off a large chunk from her snack.

His gaze followed her as she vanished from the hallway.

He realized that he had to hurry too. He needed to be in his school for his afternoon classes. As he walked towards the faculty room, he placed a hand in his chest and muttered,

"_this _feels funny"

**Research**

There was a waiting room in the hallway (adjacent to the sleeping quarters of the gobusters). Hiromu was always found contemplating or playing his music box there with his buddyroid, Nick. In short, it was Hiromu's favorite 'hang-out' in the city (in the country side, he preferred by the sea). However, Nick wasn't there when Hiromu was doing his research on a laptop. He had retreated to his quarters earlier than usual— thus leaving Hiromu alone.

Hiromu was editing his paper when Youko appeared with her workbook. Her eyes were already puffy and red as if she's been staring in her workbooks for long. Hiromu was looking at her from a reflection and smiled in discreet when he saw her donning her Usada-inspired pajamas.

Youko took a seat beside him and stared at him from the corner of her eye.

"Homework?" Hiromu asked without looking at her

"I'm not asking your help" Youko replied defensively, "besides it's only English."

She opened her workbook and started working on the reading comprehension section. She was underlining sentences and taking glances at him simultaneously. _His eye-patch seems new, _she said to herself.

"that's not due tomorrow" Hiromu said, surprised that she was studying in advance.

"how did you-?" she paused and looked at the date on the topic. It was due two weeks from now. She groaned resentfully for her mistake and searched for the page that was for tomorrow.

"I was almost impressed, then I thought it was unlike you" he chuckled

Youko made a face and continued with her work.

Two hours had passed and Hiromu was almost done with his goal. He glanced at Youko who was still busy with her workbook. She was ready to doze off, with her head bobbing and her eyelids getting heavier and heavier. Yet, she supported herself by putting all her weight to her pencil.

_THUD. _

She fell asleep with her right cheek resting on the arm that was pinned on the table.

Thinking that she failed to finish her workbook on time, he leaned his head and made a quick look without touching the pages. He was surprised to know that Youko was already done with her homework for tomorrow and was covering for the pages that were due a week after.

"could it be?—That you were waiting…" Hiromu said delicately

He closed his laptop, moved it away from him and rested his arms on the table. He relaxed himself by pinning his left cheek in his right arm. He stared at her for a while until he felt his eyelids getting heavier minute by minute. He didn't remove his gaze from her most especially when she was beginning to smile in her sleep.

Hiromu chuckled to find such a soothing sight and fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7: Crisis Beat

**CH 7: Crisis Beat**

**Author's Note: Just a bit drama for now :P**

8AM.

Nick dashed through the hallways of the EMC in search of Hiromu. Having found him browsing through books inside the library, the buddyroid couldn't believe that he had been improving in his 'sense of direction'. Setting his awe aside, he presented a pink letter to Hiromu. The latter gave off a puzzling look.

Hiromu asked, "what is this?". Since the buddyroid was hesitant to answer, he tore the envelope anyway and began to read:

_I'm back. _

_Can't wait to see you. _

_Signed, Phantom Thief Pink Buster_

Eyebrows raised, Hiromu gave out a long sigh. Nick patted him on the back and said, "at least she doesn't know a thing or two of this place. You're too popular with women, eh?"

"who's popular with women? Hiromu?" a questioning voice said.

Hiromu and Nick let out a shudder and turned around to see Youko in her brightly colored dress. Hiromu quickly deposited the letter in his jacket to deter Youko's curiosity. _She could be as obstinate as Usada sometimes, _he thought to himself.

Youko danced her eyes from Hiromu to the books and journals that he piled up on a table. She reached for the book on the top and flipped through the pages. Her eyes getting rounder, she exclaimed, "this is hard!" and continued browsing from one book to another.

Nick and Hiromu tilted their head quizzically.

"I've been seeing you here recently, Youko-chan" Nick said approvingly.

Youko paused to reflect for seconds or so.

The first thought that registered in her mind was Hiromu's frequent visit to the library. Suppressing that thought, she settled for another answer that was also truthful in itself. "I've been catching up—a lot" she added. _To debunk Hiromu's theory that I'm not serious with my homework,_ she said to herself.

"seriously?" Hiromu said, giving a chuckle. Youko made a face and elbowed him indiscriminately.

The librarian from afar pointed the sign on the wall that implied, "silence". The trio nodded their heads apologetically.

10AM.

Nick went out first, leaving Hiromu and Youko with their business. Hiromu was browsing through the last pile of the books that he gathered; but in between, he's checking on Youko from the corner of his left eye. She looked busy herself, bringing books in random every now and then.

He smiled in discreet when he caught her looking at him.

Youko cleared her throat and asked, "How's your right eye?"

"hurts once in a while" he replied while taking notes

"oh" she said, biting her lower lip in guilt. "About that, I'll treat you wherever you want. A little compensation I suppose" she added.

"you don't have to do that" he said bluntly, rubbing the side of his face that seemed to throb.

Youko rolled her eyes. She grabbed him by the jacket and led him outside the building.

**Coffee Crisis**

"I think this place is nice" Youko said.

Still grabbing Hiromu by the jacket, she directed him inside a coffee shop.

Hiromu studied the environment around him as they took a comfortable seat by the window. Most of the clients were young people either grouped together or in pairs. The shop's ambience reflected the coziness of the West.

Without asking what he wanted, Youko ordered two iced frappes with extra frosting.

Hiromu raised his eyebrows, "it's not a hot drink".

"You need sweets to boost you up." Youko said as she checked her own pockets for sweets. Her cheeks went pink when she took out a wafer from a big pocket, "and besides, you need a rest—once in a while" she added. She wondered in discreet why she's blushing over a wafer. _Baka, it's just a wafer!_ She thought.

The two iced frappes turned up and Youko couldn't hide her delight when she saw the extra frosting. But before they could enjoy it, a commotion was heard brewing outside the shop. People were frantically screaming, running and leaving their own things behind.

Hiromu and Youko looked at one another in alarm and hurried to the exit.

"it's not Enter isn't? we've defeated him!" Youko said anxiously

"there's only one way to find out" Hiromu replied as they ran towards the center of the plaza.

They found a familiar-looking bunch of Enter's minions who appeared confused of the commotion they've conspired. About ten of them were scaring off people who were about to enjoy leisure by themselves. One minion even pointed at Hiromu and Youko in panic.

Hiromu put his hands in his sides, "these minions do not know how to quit" he said.

He glanced at Youko and smiled at her. The latter reciprocated with a grin and both of them readied an arm containing a morphin brace.

IT'S MORPHIN TIME!

A wave of protective energy surrounded the two as their clothes changed to suits of red and yellow respectively.

"let's morphin!"

A visor completed their transformation as gobusters.

Hiromu crouched down with his right fist positioned on the top of the other,

"busters ready—go!"

Red buster took the minions on his left with his superhuman speed while Yellow buster aimed for the minions on her right. Yellow buster realized that they can't transport their ichigan buster and sougan blade weapons because their transpods were at the command center. Hence, they had to rely on their own strength (which does not matter anyway) as long as there are no metaroids or Enter around.

_But how to completely eradicate them without using wave particles?_ Yellow buster said to herself.

As if reading Yellow buster's thoughts, Redbuster's ichigan buster and sougan blade were transported.

"I had my transpod with me" He said aloud

IT'S TIME FOR FINAL BUSTER!

They gathered the minions at the center and Redbuster finished them off in one shot.

**A new rival?**

Youko whimpered when the waiter told them that they can't reimburse their iced frappes. Going out empty-handed, they settled for a walk in search of another place to eat lunch.

"_arigatou_" Hiromu told her, "for reminding me to take a day off"

As she let out a nod, a pink piece of paper escaped from Hiromu's jacket and flew to a nearby bench. He was about to stop her but she turned her back from him and ran after the object. She read the content silently:

_I'm back. _

_Can't wait to see you. _

_Signed, Phantom Thief Pink Buster_

She returned to him with a smile on her face.

"popular with girls, eh?" she teased as she handed the letter back to him.

Before Hiromu could react, a black vintage car was brought to a halt before them. Out came Phantom Thief Pink Buster (or Reika Saionji in real life) in her usual cosmopolitan clothing. Youko remembered how Phantom Thief Pink Buster confessed her liking for him in a letter while they were searching for Messiah's 13 cards.

"Hiromu Sakurada, university life suits you" she said with a hint of amuse

Hiromu's face went blank.

Reika Saionji glanced at Youko and gave out a nod. The latter wasn't sure whether it was a greeting or a hint of requesting her to leave. Settling for the second idea, Youko smiled apprehensively and said, "I think you needed some catching up to do. I'll—head home first".

She turned her back and walked swiftly away from them.

**Youko's Room**

Youko grabbed a jelly bun from her locker at the Command Center and walked towards her room. She paused for a while after seeing Nick in a hurry towards her.

"Youko-chan ,do you know where Hiromu is?" he asked

"out for lunch" Youko replied flatly, her fist supporting her heart.

She gave a nod to excuse herself and closed the door behind her.

She jumped to her bed and buried her face on the pillow. Her jelly bun escaped from her hand and rolled under the bed.

"_ittai_" she said, rubbing her heart.

She looked up when she saw that her pillow was wet. She traced the watery substance until her palm reached her face.

"_uzo_" she said slowly, realizing that they were tears coming from her eyes.

She buried her face on her pillow once again and began to cry silently.  
"_baka, baka!"_ she said furiously, her fist drumming against the bed.

She just realized that she liked Hiromu all along.


	8. Chapter 8: Because I'm Better than Ryuu-

CH 8: Because I'm better than Ryuu-san!

**Author's Note: This chapter brings back the humor. I hope :)**

A week passed by quickly, thus, bringing Hiromu's teaching assignment into completion. Consequently, there was ample time for leisure, research and academic duties. However, though a big load may be carried off his shoulders, there's an "equivalent weight" that he cannot bear:

Youko was being "uninterested" with him around and she was avoiding him for some reason.

Hiromu thought that this happened eversince—

"the frappe incident!" he pointed out.

His buddyroid Nick tilted his head sideways for the young man's poor conclusion. Before, he was told in secret that Youko had cried a few days ago. But Nick never expected that Hiromu would be too clueless to trace Youko's apathy to two frappes that were never reimbursed.

While in deep thought in his favorite place at the hallway, Youko did happen to pass by. She paused for a short time to glance at them and Hiromu thought there was a hint of sadness from her eyes. Normally, Youko would be friendly towards him, but he never realized that a distance would grow between them. He thought that it had to stop. _We're comrades afterall, _he told himself.

Youko gave a small nod and walked steps further. She jerked big time when she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders, forcing her to move towards the exit.

Perplexed, she asked, "_Doko ni? _(where are we going?)"

"somewhere that settles my debt" Hiromu replied happily.

**First Debt Settled**

Youko found herself in a coffee shop that took her interest some days ago. It was the same shop that refused to reimburse their frappes despite their heroic deed at the plaza. Hiromu only released his grip from Youko when the latter took a seat beside the window. Then he proceeded to the counter to order the same frappes with extra frosting.

_Why is he doing this? _Youko asked herself with a pout.

The frappes with extra frosting came and Hiromu couldn't help but ask, "happy now?" His face was too easy to read that Youko came with a conclusion that he was trying to bring back things in order between them. She settled aside the thought about Phantom Thief Pink Buster as she couldn't contain herself to be amused. "you're so dense, Hiromu!" she chuckled.

Hiromu heaved a big sigh of relief with Youko being in the "friendly mode" again. She seemed to be the kind of person who can be cheered up easily with food or anything cute. As Nick said, she's a girl, afterall.

"you were sad for the past few days" he said bluntly as he slumped in his seat, "I thought you were avoiding me"

Her eyes widening in surprise, she cleared her throat and said defensively, "I'm not avoiding you. Something..worries me..that's all".

"what makes you happy, then?" he asked, trying to mask the embarrassment from his tone.

Youko contemplated about the things that she and Ryuu-san did when she was a toddler, "Didn't you ask Ryuu-san? He knows how to cheer me up" she replied. She froze after realizing that she just made a silly and demanding suggestion. Consciously, she grabbed a newspaper from her side to cover her beet-red face.

Hiromu drew himself closer to examine the blushing comrade in front of him. His eyes slowly turning wide as Youko's, he pointed out, "you have an _oniichan-_complex!" He said it too loud that people in tables nearby were giggling in discreet. _Mochiron! _He thought. Youko happened to disclose the following signs of _oniichan _complex before: 1) She was spoiled by Ryuuji, even to the extent of tolerating her impulsiveness, 2) she believed that as a family, she had a voice in his marriage interviews and 3) she let him plan her future by deciding what highschool and university she had to go to.

"y—you—**SIS**CON!" Youko retorted, mocking Hiromu's closeness with her _oneesan,_ Rika-san. Like Youko, Hiromu was raised by a sibling and he still lived with her at the country side even if he's already 22 years old.

For minutes, the words "siscon" and "oniicon" were heard repetitively.

**Second Debt Settled**

Youko danced her eyes to the ribbon display at a fashion accessories store. Smiling in delight, she took two yellow clip-on ribbons and tried it on her pigtails. She had dozens of yellow ribbons in her care, but each pair had a different design. Moving on to hairpins, she saw a yellow rabbit hairpin and tried it with the yellow ribbons still on.

"You look like Usada turning to a Christmas tree" Hiromu said candidly

Youko looked at him with an unpleasant expression on her face. Hiromu suppressed his laugh in return.

"why don't you buy your _oneesan _with something like this?" she asked, returning the items in their previous places to transport herself to another display.

It seemed like a good idea. Hiromu just gained an insight that most girls liked fashion accessories. His _oneesan_, regardless of her age, was still a fan of anything _cute. _While Youko tried some accessories from a display nearby, Hiromu took interest at differently-colored item from the ribbon display.

It was a red ribbon.

Suddenly, an idea sparked from Hiromu's mind. He called Youko from afar and asked, "what's your most treasured item?."

Youko glanced at him from the corner of her eye and muttered aloud, "a blue-striped handkerchief."

Bemused, Hiromu continued his search by shifting to another display.

_Some minutes after.._

Both exited the shop looking very satisfied with their own purchases. Youko bought five yellow hair accessories and a cellphone charm which she would give to Nakamura-san later. On the other hand, Hiromu bought a silver brooch for his _oneesan_

"Rika-san would love that" Youko commented while peeking at Hiromu's gift bag.

**Third Debt Settled**

"Did Ryuu-san give you that blue-striped handkerchief you mentioned before?" Hiromu asked while he walked Youko towards the door of her room.

"n—no" Youko replied hesitantly, "just from someone who saw me crying befo—_DEMO! _Ryuu-san gave me a rabbit plush when I was five. I still sleep with it even if the ear needs mending".

She left her door opened while Hiromu waited at the hallway. She returned by showing him her old rabbit plush. Youko hoped that Hiromu was distracted enough to refrain from asking about the blue-striped handkerchief.

Hiromu took the plush from her hand and examined the torn ear.

"let me borrow this for a while" he said, and walked briskly towards his room at the end of the next hallway.

_After dinner.._

Youko wondered why Hiromu asked two band-aids from Nick. When she tried to ask him, all he could give was a short smile. Out of the blue, she remembered that she had to do her homework, so she settled this thought aside and headed straightly to her room.

She pulled her workbooks from her bag and placed everything on a low table. She turned to her right and was surprised to see her rabbit plush on her bed, with a small note folded inside its yellow jumpsuit. Beside it was a small package wrapped in yellow. She unfolded the letter and read:

_To Youko,_

_Because I'm better than Ryuu-san. _

_Signed, Hiromu _

She traced the ear of the plush and was amazed to see that its right ear was back in place. Her fingers trembling, she opened the yellow package and was stunned to see a differently-colored ribbon inside. With this additional ribbon in her collection, this item would surely stand out.

_Mochiron!_ because it's red…

A red ribbon.

Youko crept beside her desk to open the top drawer.

She pulled her treasured item, the blue-striped handkerchief.

"_arigatou_," she said, as she contemplated subsequently about how she got in possession of the handkerchief:

_It happened a year ago. _

_Youko denied that she was crying just because_

_Ryuu-san showed his weakpoint for the first time._

_Her morphin brace rang and she was told that the megazord was fast approaching. _

_A young man in red returned to her after his harsh criticism. _

_He gave his blue striped handkerchief to her and said, _

"_it may be wrinkled, but it's still clean". _

_And Nick, his buddyroid could only remark, "that's the way to go Hiromu!_

_I told you that you can do it if you try!"_

**Author's Note: For clarification, the first debt was a frappe. The second was a red ribbon. And the third one, a repaired rabbit plush. Hiromu did all of these due to his claim: "because I'm better than Ryuu-san!". **


	9. Chapter 9: White Day

**Ch 9 White Day**

White Day's another important day in Japan. During this day, girls get reciprocated for what they did for Valentines. It was a time for hope. In Japan, guys seldom confess their feelings because the 'first move' always comes from girls. Romantic relationships happen when boys give back to the girls' full effort or when they take the first initiative. White Day was the perfect opportunity for that.

Youko's White Day was always about Ryuuji, Commander Kuroki and Usada. Reciprocating Youko's chocolates was an established tradition already in the Special Missions calendar (except for the year when they were fighting against Vaglass). She received flowers from Commander Kuroki, homemade candies from Usada and chocolate bunnies from Ryuuji. She put all her presents in a basket and placed it in her room.

Hiromu happened to be in his favorite place at the hallway. White Day was nothing special for him despite all the efforts of his _oneesan_ to force him into dates. Besides, his research proposal was almost done and he had to prioritize that before anything else.

He was browsing through books when Youko happened to pass by in his favorite place at the hallway. He looked up to see her appearing very giddy about something. He even noticed that she was wearing something that he had never seen before—weird big glasses, a brown poncho over a white dress and soft brown boots.

"You're in a good mood today" Hiromu said.

Youko stopped in her tracks and turned to him. She smiled giddily and replied with a fist in the air, "I have a fight today!". Hiromu thought he heard these words before. These words usually escape from the mouths of people who will have a date soon.

_A date_, Hiromu thought. He was nodding his head slowly until the word "date" registered in his mind.

"HUH?!" He exclaimed, standing up. The books on his lap fell undamaged on the carpeted floor.

Youko winked at him and began to do hops in her walk. Hiromu's eyes followed the hopping figure until she vanished from the exit.

**Spying**

Youko ate her candy while waiting at the amusement park's entrance. She checked her reflection from a glass window nearby and was stunned to see a familiar figure hiding behind a tree. She raised her arm to the level of her face and pressed CALL MODE on her morphin brace.

"I can see you" Youko said, puffing her cheeks, "Hiromu"

Hiromu appeared from behind the tree. He staggered initially but was quick enough to swing back to his usual composure.

"Why-are-you-spying-on-me?" Youko asked, folding her arms as she drew her face close to his.

"_BAKA_!" Hiromu said, his hands in his sides, "I'm just...checking on you"

Hiromu's composure seemed to be wearing off. Youko could see color spreading from his cheeks while he looked away, trying to avoid her gaze. She tried to suppress a chuckle upon seeing this unusual gesture from him. Her curiosity awakening, she cleared her throat and said confidently, "White day's a good day for dates. Why don't you ask Reika-san out?" Uttering Phantom Thief Pink Buster's name made her tone sarcastic.

From afar, a boy of the same age waved at her. Youko waved back.

"I should be going back then" Hiromu said flatly, "or he would think of something else"

"what are you talking about?" Youko asked, returning his gaze

"your date" he replied, pointing back at the boy

"_Baka!_" she chuckled, "I DO have a date, with USADA. There's a new attraction at the park today and I said we're going there together."

Youko couldn't contain her laughter anymore. She laughed some more until her eyes became watery.

**A Confrontation with Ryuuji**

"Youko reported something to me today" Ryuuji said, revealing his amusement.

HIromu continued doing notes in his laptop while Ryuuji struggled to say words in between laughs.

"you like her" Ryuuji said. Hiromu froze but no words came out.

"I came to her room and I saw a note from you on her bulletin board. It said: _because I'm better than Ryuu-san._"

Again, no words came from Hiromu's mouth. He continued typing equations in his laptop until Ryuuji raised his hands ("I surrender" with a chuckle) and returned to his room.

Hiromu closed a workbook and slumped back in his seat. He closed his eyes and heaved a big sigh.

**A Confrontation with Youko**

Youko and Usada arrived after dinner time. After changing to her usual pajamas, Youko settled for a while at Hiromu's favorite place in the hallway before retreating to bed. She slumped at the long couch beside Hiromu and yawned.

She had to see him before she could get a shut-eye. She thought it was best to apologize for laughing at him so hard earlier. She can't forget the expression on his face before and after he found out that Usada was her date for White Day. She almost thought that he got _jealous. Uzo,_ Youko thought, _I'm not his type. _

"_gomen,_" she said apologetically, "for laughing at you earlier".

"it's nothing" he replied calmly

_As expected from Hiromu, _Youko thought. She rose from her seat so that she could go back to her room. But just as when she's about to take her first step, Hiromu took hold of her wrist.

This gesture made her froze.

"Youko, you forgot…something" Hiromu said, his eyes were wide when he pointed at a fallen object on the floor.

Youko turned around to see Hiromu's bewildered expression. She followed his gaze until her eyes fell on a handkerchief that was lying on the floor. She couldn't believe her eyes.

The fallen object was Hiromu's blue-striped handkerchief.

Her most treasured item.

"Youko..tell me something" he demanded, releasing her. He tried to hide his amusement, but it was obvious in his choice of words. _Why do you have this with you?_

"shut it!" Youko replied embarrassedly. She grabbed the object from the floor and placed it inside her pocket. Her cheeks turning beet-red, she looked away and began her steps towards her room.

"_chotto, _Youko!" Hiromu quipped, trailing behind her.

He grabbed a hold of her wrist again to stop her. But he made a forceful pull that both of them fell together on the carpeted floor.

Their bodies weren't the only things that slumped together…

But their faces too. Without inches or centimeters in between.


	10. Chapter 10: Surprises

**Ch 10: Surprises**

**Youko's diary entry:**

_Dame da! _Hiromu saw my treasured item. T_T

He was really shocked. I want to vanish from his sight then.

I almost did—_demo, _he pulled me so hard that I fell over,

and he tried to catch me.

But we lost balance, _dakara.._

we both collapsed on the floor.

With our mouths-pressed-together!

YAA! USADA! I've never been so embarrassed!

Youko closed her diary and sighed.

It was Sunday in the morning and she's uncertain how she would react when she sees Hiromu. Hiromu's quite obstinate when inquiring about things. He might do without the 'whole first accidental kiss thing', but he'll never forget to ask about the handkerchief that had been in her possession for more than a year.

Still panicky, Youko thought she'll distract herself by annoying Ryuuji for a short while. With her head peeking at the door of Ryuuji's office, she saw him talking to someone from the stock room. _Must be Gorisaki, _she thought.

"_Ohayou _Ryuu-san!" Youko greeted with high esteem. Ryuuji greeted her back with a pat on her head.

"_Dame da!_" Youko squeaked, dropping her smile. Ryuuji's conversation partner was not Gorisaki at all. _Why do I have to see Hiromu this early?! _she said to herself when she saw Hiromu browsing through Ryuuji's blueprints. Apparently, Hiromu shared the same concern with hers. The moment he heard her voice, his head hit a glass shelf.

Hiromu tried to return Youko's gaze, but the latter looked away with her eyes rounding up once again. Her cheeks were starting to color once more. Ryuuji noticed that Hiromu and Youko didn't greet each other.

"are you two in a fight again?" Ryuuji asked. "n—no!" they both answered.

Ryuuji was shifting his glances between Hiromu and Youko. He observed that both were looking at opposite directions. He was guessing whether Hiromu was going red or it was just the reflection of his clothes on his face. Folding his arms, he concluded that there's something going on between the two.

So he had an idea. He said, "Youko, please go to the grocery after lunch. We'll celebrate the end of your third semester. Please go with her Hiromu."

"HUH?!" Youko exclaimed.

Hiromu knew Ryuuji's expressions very well. He thought that the latter was suspecting something. He had to act before Ryuuji gets the wrong idea.

"why not Usada? Or Nick? How about J?" Youko asked.

"Usada has too many things going in his mind whenever he goes to shop. J can't be a good companion either, he's too much of a distraction." Ryuuji said.

"Nick will confuse you about directions_," _Hiromu added, masking his apprehension, "I'll go. As long as _oniicon's _fine with it"

"_oniicon_?" Ryuuji repeated.

"because Youko has _oniichan-com—"_ Hiromu stopped right after Youko gave him a heated stare.

**At the grocery**

Youko was right about one thing: Hiromu did ask about the handkerchief.

"Why didn't you return it to me? Why was it in your pocket all this time? Why is it your treasured item?"

"_matte!_ You have too many questions!" Youko replied embarrassingly. She had to think of the right excuses. But it had to be partially true, because she's not good in lying. Besides, telling a lie in front of a very honest person was a bad idea.

"or perhaps I'll ask your thoughts about the 'accident' last night?" He was too straightforward when he made this suggestion instead. Hiromu was forcing her to tell the truth. Both questions will prove that she liked him all this time.

At the baking ingredients section, Youko told him about the handkerchief.

"When I saw Ryuu-san overheated for the first time, I cried. You lent me your handkerchief remember? I thought it was very kind of you" She continued, "I never gave it back because you might not want it anymore."

Hiromu nodded, "_souka,_ it's unhygienic." Youko gripped the shopping cart tighter to control her annoyance. Hiromu tried to control his amusement when he saw this 'annoyed' expression of hers. But he wondered why she'd be irritated for the objective truth about personal hygiene.

"and for the treasured item?" he asked while getting the bag of flour from the lowest end of the shelf.

"it's—a secret!" she replied as she took the baking soda from the upper part of the shelf.

Hiromu raised his eyebrows. But before he could say something, Reika Saionji (aka Phantom Thief) appeared before them. Youko looked very surprised. Reika-san didn't pay attention to her. Her eyes were fixed on Hiromu's calm gaze instead.

"can we talk outside?" she asked boldly.

**Outside the Grocery  
**

Reika had her arms folded when she and Hiromu were outside the shop's premises.

"you didn't give me something on White day" she said.

"I believe that it's not a custom for me" Hiromu replied calmly.

"and despite my efforts, you seemed not interested at all." Reika-san was referring about her initiatives of sending letters and asking him out for a date. The day when Reika-san appeared before Hiromu and Youko at the plaza, Reika-san didn't get her chance of being asked out for lunch. Hiromu opted for a lunch date with her _oneesan_. No dates with Reika-san were ever pursued.

"is there someone worth your chance right now?" she asked.

"do you want an honest answer?"

When Reika-san nodded, Hiromu heaved a big sigh.

"with a girl I made a promise with, 15 years ago" he replied.

**Hiromu tells about leaving**

The cake was shared by everyone in the Special Missions. When Hiromu told everyone that he had to say something, the command center became silent. Even J was not heard chattering about bugs.

"I apologize that I have to break this news with you. But I want to thank you all for allowing me to stay here while I make my research proposal". He continued, "I passed my proposal this morning and I was told that they'll give me the answer in a few days. Tomorrow I will return to the country side since my work here is already done. _Arigatou gozaimasu. _" he bowed low and everyone gave a nod back except for Youko, who stayed frozen in her seat.

_Hours later…_

Hiromu was about to go back to his room when he saw Youko's figure entering the rooftop with her Usagi plush. He followed her silently. He was certain that there's something wrong with her. _Could she be crying? _He asked himself.

Youko held her plush in front of her "I'm selfish If I ask him not to go, _ne Usagi-chan_?"

"_Mochiron_" Hiromu replied back at her.

Surprised, Youko turned herself quickly to face him.

"Were you crying?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"n-no!" she denied, rubbing her eyes.

Hiromu was about to offer another handkerchief again, but Youko took her treasured item from her pocket and wiped her face with it. Youko tried her best to suppress her grief, but she couldn't. _Baka! _She said to herself, _don't cry harder!_

"child" Hiromu muttered with a chuckle and added, _"baka"_

"what-?!"

He drew himself closer and held her in a hug. It was no accident this time.

Youko widened her eyes when she felt her face in his shoulder. Her usagi plush was pinned in between.

"what are you doing?" Youko asked

"comforting you" he replied, patting her at the back "you tend to keep whatever that comforts you. You have that complex"

Youko didn't like the idea about discussing her complexes again.

She puffed her cheeks "You're not a handkerchief, you can't be with me always, _baka"_

Hiromu drew himself away but he remained his hands in her shoulders. "who says i can't?" he said with a smile.


	11. Chapter 11: Youko Learns about Dainan

**Ch 11 Youko Finds out about Dainan District**

A month has passed and Youko had to begin another semester in her last year in highschool. Ryuuji was quite persistent about asking her to apply in different universities. Apart from college entrance examinations, there's even a national test to be concerned about. National tests help determine if students have the right aptitude for a certain university. It's like their golden ticket. And because of this, Usada had been too much obstinate in extending Youko's tutoring.

Eversince Youko was told (by Hiromu) that she was moody, impulsive and not serious in her homework, her competitive nature took over. Her grades from the last semester rose to being above satisfactory. She was able to study in advance and pass her homework in time. Although the fruits of these efforts were nothing compared to the satisfaction she received in training (to defeat Vaglass), she felt close to realizing the value of a 'dream'. During spring break, Youko discovered her dream of becoming a pilot-scientist like her mother. All credits had to go to Hiromu because of his 'straight to the point' opinions.

But Youko couldn't thank Hiromu now. As a matter of fact, he hadn't been communicating with her for a month. The last time that she saw him was before his return to the countryside. And the last thing she heard from him were the ambiguous words: who says I can't? [be with you always]. She even composed a letter which contained:

_Dear Hiromu,_

_I'm not sure how to begin this exactly. _

_But I was hoping we could meet during spring break?_

_There's something important that I have to tell you. _

_With this letter is a scarf that I bought._

_Gomen! I couldn't make one. And blame yourself for your sudden departure!_

_Anyway, I was told that the weather in the country side is quite harsh compared to what we have in the city during spring time. I hope the scarf will be useful. _

_Signed, Youko_

But her letter and the scarf didn't reach him. For reasons that she didn't know, Hiromu disappeared without saying goodbye. Youko hid her disappointment by distracting herself with Usada's lessons.

**At the Research Facility's gate, 5PM**

Youko cupped her pockets and pulled a wafer which she consumed immediately. Hiromu needed not to be obstinate anymore about reminding her of her calorie-intake. Yet again, there's no Hiromu to hear praises from. Brushing her thoughts about him aside, Youko hurried to the portal which was connected to the Command Center.

Ryuuji was waiting for her at the Command Center.

"Youko-chan," Ryuuji said, "I have more college brochures for you."

Initially, Youko made a face when Ryuuji handed her the brochures. But she remembered her dream of becoming a pilot-scientist like her mother someday.

"_Arigatou, _Ryuu-san" she said, putting the brochures in her school bag.

"_Chotto, _I have a surprise for you" Ryuuji said, "he'll be here, any second now"

Youko could hear a sound from the 01 chute. During the heyday of their fight with Vaglass, only one person was able to use that chute. And that person was Redbuster.

"_Uzo_" she muttered. The 01 chute opened and out came Hiromu. He looked like the first time that the Gobusters met—with his hair cut shorter, leaving only a few bangs on his forehead. He was wearing a white shirt with Nick the buddyroid caricature as the design. It was probably a creation of his _oneesan. _

Hiromu looked surprised himself when he saw Youko. But he anticipated that the latter will be displeased for never communicating with her for a month. True enough, Youko was frowning and pursing her lips at him.

Smelling the tension from the air, Ryuuji raised his palms as if signaling surrender. He said, "Youko-chan, Hiromu can explain about his absence."

"It doesn't matter!" Youko said offensively. She narrowed her eyes to take a last look at Hiromu and walked towards the exit.

Hiromu trailed after her. He pulled her wrist to stop her. Youko forcefully removed her wrist from his grip. Delaying her was hard. He resorted by blocking her from entering her room.

"_Nani-yo?!_ (what is it so?!)"

"_Gomen, _Youko, but could you please listen with good judgment?"

Youko gripped her bag tight, but she remained still.

"A few days after my return to the countryside, the EMC called me and said that I have to defend my proposal. My research was about subdimensions and the management told me if I could find any trace of the subdimension from the ruins of the teleport facility at Dainan. They will re-open the teleport facility there. It was a rigorous work and I decided not to contact you for safety purposes."

"isn't that dangerous? Isn't the ruins connected to Messiah?" Youko asked, suddenly forgetting about her disappointment.

"that's why there's a need for new vaccine programs," he replied, "The EMC insists that there are other subdimensions aside from the old dimension that we know. I'll tell you everything about my work during our dinner with Ryuu-san and the others."

**Dinner time**

Every person from the Special Missions was there. They listened intently as Hiromu told them about the existence of other subdimensions. Morishita-san and Nakamura-san who were experts about this field were commenting as well, all because Hiromu asked them to be involved in this on-site project.

"so with a new teleport facility be put soon at Dainan, will you be transferring there?" Ryuuji asked.

"_sou-desu_" Hiromu said approvingly, "afterall, everything started there."

"Quite tempting for me to transfer too," Ryuuji replied, "it has a wide place for my prototype machines".

"it sure brings back memories" Gorisaki said. Usada and Nick nodded in agreement. J wondered about the bugs there.

"_atashi-mo! _(me too!) I want to work there too like _okasan_" Youko added heartily.

Ryuuji smiled and put a hand to pat her head, "after you finish college." Commander Kuroki and Hiromu smiled at her sympathetically when Youko made a sad face.

"So will you be staying with us now?" Commander Kuroki asked Hiromu.

Hiromu nodded. After all, he just received news from the management that he'll be training as the Center Chief at the Dainan district soon.

_An Hour Later…_

Hiromu was at his favorite place at the hallway when Youko and her workbooks joined him.

"I'm just waiting for Usada" she said while making faces.

Usada appeared with more worksheets. Youko sighed and slumped in her seat. Hiromu tried his best to suppress his laughter.

"where's your pencil?" Usada asked. Youko forced a smile sheepishly.

"I'll get it" Hiromu offered.

Hiromu walked briskly to Youko's room. He spotted Youko's pencil case on her desk. Another glance on Youko's desk and he couldn't take his eyes off a paper bag that was addressed to him. Hiromu opened the paper bag and saw a scarf and a letter inside. He took the paper first and read:

_Dear Hiromu,_

_I'm not sure how to begin this exactly. _

_But I was hoping we could meet during spring break?_

_There's something important that I have to tell you. _

_With this letter is a scarf that I bought._

_Gomen! I couldn't make one. And blame yourself for your sudden departure!_

_Anyway, I was told that the weather in the country side is quite harsh compared to what we have in the city during spring time. I hope the scarf will be useful. _

_Signed, Youko_

Hiromu frowned while looking at the scarf in his hands. If only he properly dismissed himself a month ago, then he'd be donning the scarf until now. He felt sunken for focusing too much in his project and forgetting about Youko's last spring break in highschool.

When he returned at the hallway, Usada was muttering gibberish about him being too slow in retrieving a pencil.

Pointing at the paper bag, Hiromu turned to Youko and said, "I'll keep this." He anticipated that Youko will complain about trespassing so he added, "it's addressed to me". Youko didn't say anything anymore and continued anyway with her homework.

Hiromu watched while Youko was doing her homework.

He had sleepless nights because of his adventures at Dainan.

He could retire to bed now, but he waited for her instead.

He dozed off unconsciously while staring at her.

**Good morning, Hiromu**

When Hiromu woke up, he was covered in a warm blanket. Beside him was Youko's old plush. He looked at his watch and realized that it was already past seven in the morning. He thought that Youko was already in school now.

At the table near him, he saw a tray with eggs, bacon, bread and juice. There was a letter beside it that said, "Usada made this".

Hiromu knew Usada was detailed in preparing food…

The breakfast plate looked quite sloppy and Usada knew Hiromu wouldn't eat eggs because they're related to chickens.

So he thought it's only logical that Youko made it.


	12. Chapter 12: A Once in a Lifetime Subdime

**Ch 12: A Once in a Lifetime Subdimension**

**Author's note: I think I was crazy when I did this. :P**

**Dropping by at the Ruins**

Ryuuji, Youko, Usada, Gorisaki and J visited the ruins at the Teleportation Research Facility at Dainan District. There's a newly built Enetron tank which was enough for teleporting. The massive hole which was occupied by the said facility before was still there. Employees from the EMC which were not restricted to scientists and researchers alone were absorbed in their own worlds. As Ryuuji et al looked around, they spotted Hiromu, Nick, Morishita-san and Nakamura-san in their own tent beside the crater. Each (except Nick) had their own laptops running on software that analyzes subdimensions.

"Busy as always, huh?" Ryuuji asked unreservedly.

Hiromu nodded. Ryuuji wondered why Hiromu was both manually calculating and using the software at the same time whereas Morishita-san and Nakamura-san were beginning to research on something else.

"Nakamura-san," Youko said, pointing on her friend's laptop, "is that Sakurada-san?"

Nakamura-san smiled at her and nodded. Apparently, Hiromu asked her to find a classified research by his father. Ryuuji looked at Morishita-san's screen and found an article about galaxy formation. Eyes growing big, Ryuuji looked at Hiromu and exclaimed, "_Masaka, _you're not attempting something, aren't you?"

Finished already with his calculations, Hiromu dropped his pencil and pointed his screen, "according to my calculations, this software will receive a signal depicting a new subdimension in three seconds. _San-ni-ichi._"

The three laptops gave an alarm and a new subdimension was detected.

"This was among the classified researches by my father but he wasn't able to continue it because of Vaglass. He didn't live to see this subdimension as well, because this subdimension only appears once in every 500 years." Hiromu said.

"Hiromu-san thought that the galaxy formation had something to do about it," Morishita-san added.

"but how about markers?" J the buddyroid asked.

"Ryuuji!" Gorisaki exclaimed, "it's time that we test the machine that we invented!" Gorisaki was referring to the machine with the same time and space transcending ability as the time-machine that the gokaigers received from the timerangers.

"it's worth at try" Ryuuji said, his eyes glowing. Hiromu and Youko nodded at him freely.

**Introducing Neko-tan!**

Morishita-san and Nakamura-san had to be left at the ruins because only those who had the vaccine program may teleport freely. Hiromu, Ryuuji, Youko and their buddyroids can survive the teleportation better because of Ryuuji's new buster machine that had both time and space transcending abilities. Ryuuji called his first generation buster machine from his morphin brace and in just three minutes the machine appeared.

"tadaa!" Ryuuji said, moving his hands to welcome the buster machine that was as small as RH-03, "_neko-_tan!". Ryuuji's first generation buster machine was inspired by a black and white cat. It was in its 'animal mode'.

"_kawaii!_" Youko and Nakamura-san cried.

"_souka!_ Cats are believed to be traveling in secret dimensions!" Hiromu said, "that was an excellent idea Ryuu-san!"

Ryuu-san couldn't hide his excitement, so as Hiromu and Youko. Together with their buddyroids, they entered inside NT-00. It was spacious inside, with couches and control pads everywhere. They were welcomed by a cat buddyroid (or Neko-tan) who was as small as a cat in real life. It seemed to be executing fondness at Usada.

"_kawaii Neko-tan!_" Youko exclaimed and the cat buddyroid purred.

"Seems small, isn't he?" Hiromu asked. Youko and Usada shot him with glaring stares.

Ryuuji took the seat at the cockpit while the others were seated at the couch. Neko-tan positioned himself to where Ryuuji was and extended his paws. Ryuuji took Neko-tan's paws and moved them forward. The NT-00 made a purring sound and was vanished from Morishita-san and Nakamura-san's eyes.

**Trouble at the Subdimension**

NT-00 landed successfully at the targeted subdimension. Hiromu et al moved outside NT-00 and studied their environment carefully. Its resemblance with the country side was genuine and each land and water type was represented. The subdimension may look peaceful, but the gobusters preferred to be more cautious by bringing their weapons with them.

Using their _sougan _(binoculars), they took pictures of every surrounding that absorbed their interests. They did this for 30 minutes. They only have 30 minutes remaining before NT-00 will lose his enetron.

"I detect an army" J said, looking around. J's senses had never failed and everyone had their full trust in him. This trust alone made them anxious. What kind of army was it? Could it be a reigning virus in the subdimension?

An army sporting black tights appeared. The gobusters thought they looked familiar with the funny sound that they're producing. "shockers!" Hiromu said. The _dai shockers_ were known to be scattered in any place or time because they can teleport by themselves. They were the sworn enemies of the _Kamen Riders. _The gobusters had encountered these shockers when they fought alongside the riders and _super sentai_.

There's only one thing to do in this particular moment. The gobusters readied an arm containing their morphin brace while J took out his own transformer.

_IT'S MORPHIN TIME!_ A protective barrier surrounded the gobusters.

They said together, "let's morphin!" and their visors completed their get-up.

"I've been missing this a lot!" Ryuuji said while flexing his arms in the air.

At Redbuster's signal, they all crouched down.

BUSTERS READY…GO!

The shockers and the gobusters met at the center. Bluebuster gathered the shockers in one arm while Yellowbuster tossed herself in the air to collect the others to her attention. Redbuster used his superhuman speed while throwing punches at the shockers simultaneously. J was still J, fighting his best even without his partner, Jin-san. Nick took his famous tennis rocket and swatted at the heads of the shockers. Gorisaki and Usada hurried to get NT-00.

The shockers seemed to be getting more reinforcements. The gobusters used their sougan blades and ichigan busters to eliminate more enemies. However, more shockers keep appearing and time was running out for them.

IT'S TIME FOR BUSTER!

The gobusters thought that their final attack may at least distract or eliminate a huge number from the shockers' growing army. Wave particles from the busters eradicated a massive population and the gobusters hurried as Usada, Gorisaki and Nick vanished inside NT-00. From the NT-00, Neko-tan used his furball missiles to abolish the enemies.

Bluebuster was the first to go inside to prepare the teleportation process. J was at NT-00's chute, firing away as Redbuster and Yellowbuster fought the shockers surrounding NT-00.

Ryuuji yelled, "Hiromu, Youko-chan, hurry up! Just grab any part of NT-00 and we could go home!".

Using her powerful jump, Yellowbuster grabbed Redbuster by the hand and she pulled herself (and himself) to the top of NT-00's body. They fired back at the shockers as the teleportation process began.

During teleportation process, those injected with the vaccine program may not use their superhuman powers to protect themselves—otherwise, it'll affect their program. They can't be hit by anything either. But Yellowbuster saw a shocker that was about to fire at them. In the last second of the teleportation process, Yellowbuster used her body to shield Redbuster from the attack. A green barrier surrounded them and they all vanished.

**And the problem with Youko is…**

They all returned successfully at the ruins. The time at the subdimension and on earth seemed to be different. Even if they just spent an hour at the subdimension, it was already equivalent to seven hours passed in Japan time. It was already 6 in the evening and only Nakamura-san and Morishita-san were left waiting for them.

The others emerged out from NT-00 while Hiromu carried Youko to the ground. Youko was unconscious and Hiromu shook her apprehensively with one arm while the other arm supported her back. Nakamura-san was almost going to cry. Morishita-san put an arm to comfort her.

"Pull yourself together, Youko!" Usada said. Ryuuji crouched beside Hiromu and shook Youko as well.

"Youko-chan, wake up!" Ryuuji said frantically while tugging at Youko's arm.

At last, the unconscious body stirred. Youko opened her eyes slowly.

"Ryuu-san? Usada?" Youko muttered, her smile short.

They all heaved a sigh of relief.

Youko looked at the one who was supporting her back. Her eyes growing big, she pushed Hiromu away from her. Hiromu was taken aback with his eyebrows raised.

"_Nani-yo?!_" she said tensely, "who are you?!".

Hiromu looked at Ryuuji overanxiously. He turned his gaze back at Youko, his eyes suddenly giving a hint of fear.

"Youko-chan's vaccine program…" Ryuuji said worriedly, never finishing the sentence that he had just started.

**Author's note: Looks like Youko had a selective amnesia because of the attack she had absorbed during the teleportation process. **


	13. Chapter 13: The Thing about Sweets

**Ch 13: The Thing about Sweets**

Hiromu listened intently while Ryuuji talked with a medical representative.

"Her vaccine program has been slightly affected, erasing a few years from her memory. She knew a thing or two about Vaglass, but nothing more on metaroids or megazords. Her superhuman abilities are still there. We did show a picture of the Special Missions on her and asked her to identify every person from the picture. She has no memory of Miho Nakamura-san, buddyroids Cheeda Nick and J and—Hiromu Sakurada-san."

"So her memories of what happened during our fight with Vaglass were erased" Ryuuji commented wearily. The medical representative shook his head in agreement.

Hiromu gestured a hand to cover his face. He was absorbed in deep thoughts. Ryuuji thought he saw the unlikely expressions of despair and frustration from his face. He suspected that Hiromu was taking all the guilt to himself. After all, Hiromu was too much of an open book.

"Our buddyroids have the same vaccine program as Youko's," Hiromu said determinedly, his voice giving away, "During our teleportation process from the Edo period, they were attacked indiscriminately. Their vaccine programs had to be reinstalled in full and with that, they lost all their memories. But something happened along the way. Our emotional link helped to recover those lost memories. Only partial of Youko's vaccine program was affected. It's more possible to retrieve her memories if judged against what happened to the buddyroids."

Ryuuji and the medical representative looked at him sympathetically.

"…but—she's a human…might be a different…case…" Hiromu added, the last words of his sentence sounding like a whisper. Ryuuji's brotherly instincts kicked in and so he placed a hand on Hiromu's shoulder to provide emotional support.

**Setting: Youko's Room, A.M.**

"What was his name again?" Youko asked.

"Hiromu Sakurada" Usada replied, placing a breakfast tray on the desk beside her.

"siscon" Youko corrected, trying to amuse herself. She _had_ to amuse herself, for reasons that medical representatives from the management always bugged her with tests. And Usada particularly, would soon pester her of a test that begins with an "H" and ends with a "K". She shrugged—appalled for thinking about worksheets and cram school with Usada.

But mostly, she felt overwhelmed. Firstly, she heard that Vaglass had been defeated with her full cooperation and secondly, she finished her third year in highschool with grades that were above satisfactory. How was that possible? She hated studying!

Since training was no longer possible (there's no demand for it anyway), Youko had to find other reasons to amuse herself.

Usada left her to finish her meal. Youko had to send him off because he stayed all night to watch over her. She thought Usada had nothing to worry about her except re-tutoring her of her subjects in third year highschool. But deep inside, her heart was screaming something else. Could it be her regret for bypassing all the fun in fighting Vaglass or of Usada telling her that there were no survivors from the subdimension?

Her side wounds hurt along with the pain she had in her heart. Without hesitation, she began to cry.

Hiromu happened to pass by her room when he heard her crying in pain. Without asking permission for his intrusion, he made a dash inside and hurried to her side. He spotted her wiping her reddened face with her hands.

He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and offered it to her. Youko looked up to him.

"It's wrinkled…but it's clean" Hiromu said, hoping that Youko would remember something from this little gesture of his. Youko was hesitant to take the offer, but she gave in. She wiped the tears from her eyes as Hiromu searched for a pain reliever from the medicine cabinet.

He watched closely as Youko popped a tablet in her mouth. His small gesture didn't even hit a nerve.

"_daijobou?_" he asked, his voice giving off hint of pain.

Youko nodded, slightly absorbed as to why he's overly-reacting since yesterday.

She didn't have the faintest idea that he felt utterly useless about her condition. He looked as if he wanted to tell something (or everything for that matter). But all Hiromu could do was to wince away.

**The thing with homeworks and sweets..**

Youko had to be excused from school for a week. She had a lot of catching up to do with the overall condition of her health. She felt almost normal (if her hate against homework and cram school were considered) but still overwhelmed of the information being disclosed to her slowly. All her life she prepared for the real battle against Vaglass…And now, she had to adjust to a "normal life".

"Youko, you're lagging behind your homework" Usada said, distracting her from her thoughts.

"Ah mou!give it a break, Usada" Youko said, burying her face in her arms.

"You were better when competing against Hiromu".

Usada had mentioned his name again. Youko wondered why she's always being compared to him. His name was slowly getting in her nerves. What she didn't know was the buddyroid was referring to Youko's determination in proving Hiromu wrong about her being moody, impulsive and not serious in doing her homework.

"Why do you always have to mention him?" Youko asked, almost mocking him.

"You have a special bond with him, Youko"

_You have a special bond with him…_Youko heard this statement as a remark from Ryuuji when he overheard Hiromu and Youko's conversation inside her room.

_**What Ryuuji overheard..**_

_Youko used Hiromu's handkerchief to wipe the tears from her eyes. She wondered why Hiromu looked as if he wanted to tell something but was still hesitant to do so. She thought he was hiding something from her. Out of curiosity, she asked, _

"_Why did you have to return? You could have stayed with your oneesan"_

_Hiromu looked at her intently. It was as if they returned to step 1. "Because I promised."_

"_What did you promise?"_

"_That we'll return things back to normal."_

_Youko felt her cheeks flushed. She remembered that they held hands after he made that promise. Hiromu still locked his eyes on her even if he seemed in pain. His bluntness in words and gestures made her feel awkward. She looked away so that he wouldn't notice the strange color in her cheeks. _

_Hiromu continued, "but…it had to be broken. Our parents entrusted their lives to us. They had to sacrifice themselves to help defeat Messiah. Gomen, Youko…"_

"_Usada told me about that already" Youko replied defensively. _

_Their conversation was cut short when Ryuuji entered her room. Hiromu had to excuse himself so that Ryuuji could have a private time with Youko. When they were left alone, Ryuuji just smiled at her (pretending he didn't hear about their conversation) and asked, "daijobou? Your face is really red. Did he tell something to you?" _

_Youko puffed her cheeks and said, "it's nothing Ryuu-san." _

_Ryuuji couldn't hide his amusement. He put a hand on her head and patted it. When Youko pressed her lips together tightly as if signaling irritation from Ryuuji's last remark, he said, "You have a special bond with him, Youko-chan. Ask him about it next time."_

_Youko insisted that he spill everything he knew about them. But Ryuuji wouldn't tell anything. _

* * *

Youko had to be adamant about her own breaktime. Usada finally gave in to her request because she had her nose on workbooks all day. She thought that a visit to the shooting grounds (even if there's no need) will remind her of the old times when she and Ryuuji used to train their buster weapons together. She supposed that it would be comforting and enjoyable at the same time.

Youko was absorbed in her own world when Hiromu came running at her with a wafer in his hand.

"You haven't taken anything yet for your inner battery" Hiromu said, offering the wafer to her.

Youko could trace the frustration from his voice. But instead of being thankful, her natural response was, "I can remind myself of little things like that". She took the wafer forcefully from his hand and placed it in her pocket. She remembered about the handkerchief incident and the story of the promise he made to her. This made her feel more embarrassed.

"I will only leave you if you consume it" he insisted, putting his hands in his sides "_gomen, _but I have to be obstinate with you, given your present condition."

Youko felt more annoyed than ever. First, Hiromu was overly-reacting around her. Second, Usada said that she was better at school work when she competed against him. Third, he was always the first person to know when she's in pain. Fourth, he was obstinate about her calorie-intake. And lastly, both Ryuuji and Usada insisted that she had a 'special bond' with him.

Youko turned to match his stance. When she was only a few inches away from him, she said, "You intruded in my room and comforted me when I didn't ask you to. You always ask how my day was. And now you're obstinate about my calorie intake. Your promise to me was already broken and Vaglass was defeated. Why-make-a-fuss-over-me Hiromu?!"

Hiromu parted his mouth a little, but no words came out. The most prominent expression from his face was a frown.

"I'm not a child anymore! So stop—"

Youko froze in her spot when Hiromu leaned himself to her, _almost kissing her_. Her face was redder than ever and her eyes were wide in shock. Youko remembered about the 'special bond' that Ryuuji and Usada were talking about. But she didn't know what that was.

"An emotional link might recover lost memories." Hiromu said candidly.

"w—what link?"

"I love you, Youko"

And within a fraction of a second, he kissed her.


	14. Chapter 14: Denial is not Equal to Disho

**Ch 14: Denial is not Equal to Dishonesty**

**A/N: Fan service mode XD**

**Shooting Grounds, EMC  
**

Everything seemed to be back to normal—

Or in Youko's case, her retrieved memories of Vaglass, Nakamura-san, buddyroids Nick and J and Hiromu.

Hiromu was trusted for being a critical thinker. But in situations that were either time-sensitive or having a low % success rate, he would opt for bold or reckless ideas. In Youko's case, Hiromu believed that her memories will be restored, even if Ryuuj thought otherwise. For Ryuuji, Youko had same vaccine program as the buddyroids, but the former's restoration needed not to depend on a massive flow of enetron (**A/N: in the movie Gobusters vs Gokaigers, the memories of the buddyroids were recovered as a result of a massive enetron-flow coming from Hiromu, Ryuuji and Youko**). But for Hiromu, he thought that the enetron-flow (to the buddyroids) was possible because of determination and the special bond that they have formed together. Youko may be a human, but Hiromu believed that there's still a possibility to restore her memories using his determination and the special bond he had with her.

However—

Youko didn't have the slightest idea that Hiromu would opt for a bold idea this time.

_What should I do?_—she asked herself, her eyes still round from shock. Youko felt her form melting and her heart beating very fast. She's afraid to breathe—for if she does, she'll have to pull herself away. She asked herself again, _I thought he didn't like me? _But she heard him say, "I love you, Youko" loud and clear. She's certain that Hiromu wouldn't lie to her. Lying was not in this siscon's nature.

As for Hiromu—he didn't have a clue that she found her memories at last. He opened his eyes slowly and pulled back—with his hands still immobile in his sides. His gaze became unfocused as he tried to catch his breath. Color was spreading rapidly in his cheeks.

"H—Hiromu…" Youko muttered, "You said I wasn't your type…"

Hiromu raised his eyebrows in surprise. Youko was indeed recalling from the moment when he sort of "rejected" her (**A/N: Chapter 4: At Odds**). "You remembered?" he asked hopefully.

Youko nodded slowly and replied, "Everything".

Without her knowing it, Hiromu pulled her back—but this time, in a tight hug. Youko thought that any moment, her heart would burst.

"_Gomen_ Youko, it's my fault that you lost your memories." Hiromu said apologetically. Youko found herself frozen once again. When he felt how rigid her stance was, he suddenly realized that he made another bold move. He loosened his grip but he didn't release her. He moved a hand to pat her head this time.

"Only Ryuu-san can do that!" Youko retorted, her cheeks puffed.

"But I'm better than Ryuu-san" Hiromu replied humorously.

They remained in that position for a while.

"Hiromu?"

"Yes?"

"Don't tell Ryuu-san about _what you did_ to regain my memories"

"I'm not going to lie."

"Hi-ro-mu!"

"Stop protesting or I'll make another bold move."

"You're being _cocky, _don't you think?"

_That's it, _Hiromu said to himself. He released his grip from her and leaned his face forward to hers. He was only teasing her, but it seemed that Youko was taking it seriously. Her cheeks were beet red and her eyes—_poor eyes—_they looked so strained from the shock.

He closed another millimeter between them and gave her an opportunity to back off. Closing another millimeter again would begin another bold move. He waited for her to pull back, but he saw that her eyes were slowly relaxing.

They remained absorbed in each other's gazes that they didn't hear footsteps coming from the hallway.

"There you are"

Ryuuji's voice made them jump. They widened their distance between them as Ryuuji approached them. Pretending to be busy, Youko grabbed a bite from her wafer immediately while Hiromu occupied himself with the buster weapons.

"I thought I'll see you here Youko" Ryuuji said, "I wanted to show you tapes of our battles with Vaglass. It may help retrieve your lost memories"

"_Daijobou_ Ryuu-san, I got my memories back" Youko replied.

Ryuuji smiled widely at the good news and patted her hard on the head. "So Hiromu figured it out then! How did you do it?"

Youko gave Hiromu a _don't you dare_ look.

"Enetron-flow. Our bodies can produce that." Hiromu replied. And this was exactly true. When he kissed her, green wave particles moved from his form to hers. He realized that he constructed an inappropriate answer, because Ryuuji's question began with "how". But Ryuuji seemed not to mind. What's more important to him was Youko regained her memories back.

Ryuuji asked that she may be examined once again to prove that her memories were really back. Youko gave a nod to his adoptive brother and followed him to the hallway.

**Command Center, EMC  
**

Commander Kuroki's teenage fraternal twins visited the center the next day. Ryuuji and Youko were good friends with them—most especially Youko since they share the same age. But unlike Youko, the twins were in their first year in college. According to Usada, they looked nothing like Commander Kuroki and insisted that they got their good genes from their mother. Takeru, the twin brother, was fond of Youko eversince.

The twins didn't know that there was a party going on (in celebration of Youko's retrieval of her lost memories) at the Command Center. When Commander Kuroki saw his children, he invited them to join them. They didn't ask what the party was about since they know it was classified. The twins haven't seen Ryuuji and Youko for more than two years. Takeru was more than happy to see Youko. He distanced himself from his twin sister Taki-chan to catch up with Youko.

Seeing the delight from Takeru's eyes, Ryuuji nudged Hiromu's elbow and whispered, "That kid likes her. Doesn't that bother you?"

"I don't meddle with people's personal lives, Ryuu-san" Hiromu answered earnestly. It was true that Hiromu didn't like meddling with other people's lives, but every now and then he would steal glances at Youko and her friend.

"It's good that Youko-chan doesn't like him," Ryuuji said, taking a sip from his soda, "because if she does, that Takeru kid will get something from me." He showed and flexed his toned arms infront of Hiromu. Hiromu only shrugged in reply. Then he thought, _what if Ryuu-san finds out about my feelings for Youko?_ Ryuuji's strong point was in his arms. He imagined being cornered and punched at. The thought tickled him and he couldn't help but burst in a chuckle. Then another thought surfaced inside his mind—and it was about Ryuuji torturing him with chickens. _This_ thought sent a chill down his spine.

They overheard Takeru's bold query about asking Youko if she's dating anyone. Ryuuji was about to go to pull the boy's ears but Hiromu grabbed his collar in time.

Youko replied that she's not dating anyone yet. When Hiromu heard this, he grabbed Nick's accelerator and turned it hard. Nick asked what's wrong and Hiromu suddenly realized that he was being illogical. "_Gomen,_ Nick" he said and excused himself from the crowd.

**Rooftop, EMC  
**

Nick found Hiromu leaning his body on a railing. The latter was preoccupied while watching the stars from the sky.

"_daijobou _Hiromu?" Nick asked

"Oi Nick, you didn't get lost this time" Hiromu said bluntly.

"And you're not a good liar either," Nick replied back, "What's wrong?"

"I don't know Nick. The vaccine program should have sharpened my senses. But I feel lost."

"I see," Nick said, shaking his head, "and that explains why you grabbed my accelerator. Why did you do it?"

Hiromu paused for seconds or so.

"After…Youko told Kuroki-san that she's not dating anyone" Hiromu answered cautiously.

Nick was stunned initially and then he chuckled afterwards.

"I think what you're feeling is normal, Hiromu. It's common with any person who values another." Nick added. He put a hand on Hiromu's shoulder for emotional support.

Nick and Hiromu enjoyed some minutes of silence. The silence of the night was what they needed to pretend that their current environment was from the country side. Out of the blue, they heard running footsteps from the stairs. They both looked at the figure who just surfaced from the dark. It was Youko.

Nick excused himself so that the two can have a private conversation alone.

"You vanished all of a sudden" Youko said, taking a seat from the bench.

Hiromu took a seat beside her, but he never said anything. Youko looked at him from the corner of her eye and she thought that the expression on his face was playing between calmness and pain. She also thought that to break Hiromu's silence would be to ask questions related to her.

"What you told me yesterday—did you mean it?" she asked. She was referring to the moment when he confessed to her.

"I don't see why I shouldn't" he replied calmly.

"But you mean it in a brother-sister way, don't you?"

Hiromu raised his eyebrows. He turned to her and said, "Brothers and sisters don't kiss each other on the mouth after saying I love you".

"What do I know? You're siscon. I thought you do it to your _oneesan_."

Hiromu didn't know whether he'll feel disgusted or sympathetic to her unsound logic.

"And I'm not your _type_, remember?" She stressed the word 'type' as if mocking the day when he 'rejected' her.

"Well—you're moody, impulsive and sometimes you're not serious in doing your homework" Hiromu made it sound too straightforward that it hit a nerve. Youko stood up quickly—color was rising in her puffed cheeks.

She tried to take a step first, but Hiromu took hold of her hand. A feeling of comfort surged in her. She remembered the day when he made a promise and held her hand to comfort her. The expression in her face shifted from annoyance to placidness.

Hiromu looked up to her. Youko returned his gaze awkwardly.

"Do you remember this?" He asked, referring to their gesture of holding hands.

"_Haii_" she nodded slowly.

"It all started here."

Youko couldn't believe that he'd been thinking about her since 15 years ago. Well, she did have a _little crush_ on him back then. But along the way, she forgot about it.

"I trained really hard with Nick so that I could keep my promise to you and return everything to normal. I had to deny my feelings because we're in the middle of a war with Vaglass and you were just 16 then. I thought my feelings were like of Ryuu-san's, so it became natural to be overprotective of you as well. But sometimes I went overboard—and we had little arguments every now and then because you thought I was treating you like a child."

He added, "After the war with Vaglass, I decided that I want to be with you forever so I worked here as a student-intern. My goal was to be employed here so that I could see you always. Then everything developed from there."

Youko thought she could see him getting apprehensive. But she wanted to know also if he figured out that she had feelings for him too.

"To tell you the truth," she began, "when you said I was moody, impulsive and not serious in doing my homework, I wanted to prove you wrong so I had little improvements in myself."

"But that was natural from you, isn't?" Hiromu said, "You're the competitive type"

Youko widened her eyes, "So that's what you thought as my reason for doing those?"

Hiromu nodded.

_I wanted to prove you wrong because I realized that I liked you all along. I enjoyed those moments when we studied together. I stayed late every night to see you study and work at the same time. I even went overboard of going to the library just to see you. I got jealous about phantom thief and I waited for this year's spring break to tell everything to you._ _I thought your good judgment would figure these feelings out. _These were running in Youko's mind, but she didn't say it aloud.

Instead, she took a palm, rested her face on it and sighed. "Hiromu, you really are _dense_" she said with a chuckle. Hiromu stared at her with his eyebrows furrowed.


	15. Chapter 15: Jealousy Feels

**CH 15: Jealousy feels**

**A/N: Sorry for the late update! I had so many school work to do. This chapter is a cliff-hanger. The next one will be posted tomorrow or the day after. **

**Breakfast Nook, EMC**

A part of Youko's "little improvement" towards maturity was to make her own _bento_ for lunch so that she won't be too dependent on Usada all the time. Youko knew how to cook and her decorations got better every single day.

She was at the breakfast nook so early in the morning, preparing her _bento _and eating her cereal at the same time. She was joined in by Ryuuji, who was an early bird himself. Youko looked at her finished _bento _and was surprised to see that there were many finger foods left.

Meanwhile, Hiromu appeared from the kitchen with an empty bowl in his hand. He wasn't used to waking up early that's why he seemed to be half-asleep. His buddyroid Nick was trying to wake him in full by shaking his shoulders, but Hiromu would just bob his head at him. He sat at the nook opposite Youko and Ryuuji and squinted at the two _bentos _prepared by Youko.

"You'll eat all that?" Hiromu asked while filling his glass with juice.

"_ohayou_ Hi-ro-mu" Youko corrected, emphasizing that he should've greeted her before asking her a question. "That yellow _bento _is mine. The blue one is Ryuu-san's. I prepared them both", she added proudly.

"_bento _for Ryuu-san?" Hiromu exclaimed. He was paying too much attention at Youko's last remark that he didn't notice his glass overflowing with juice.

"Hiromu, your glass!" Nick said in panic. He steadied the pitcher and took a kitchen towel to absorb the mess. "G—gomen Nick!" Hiromu replied, his eyes dilated in surprise.

"What's wrong with you Hiromu? You're losing your sense of reason" Nick said back. Ryuuji didn't have any idea what the buddyroid was telling about. He just laughed at what happened and excused himself with the blue _bento_ box. Hiromu frowned at his own irrational behavior and grabbed the cereal box to distract himself.

Youko went to the opposite side of the nook to stand beside Hiromu. She leaned her face to study his expression carefully. Hiromu looked awkwardly tense in watching her from the corner of his eye. When he can't take it anymore, he asked apprehensively, "what?"

Youko grinned widely and said, "_Someone_ is jealous at Ryuu-san". Nick snorted when he heard her remark. Hiromu almost wanted to lie, but since it's not in his nature to do so, he just shrugged and forced a laugh.

"_Uzo_" Youko said, looking at her time. She realized that she had to hurry for the morning ceremonies.

She left by leaving a paper bag near Hiromu's glass. Hiromu opened the paper bag and found a red _bento_ inside.

**School Grounds, PM**

Youko's school gate was swarmed by students of diverse backgrounds. Hiromu and Nick failed to blend with the crowd as many heads turn to point at the buddyroid. Nick thought loudly that he was popular with the ladies. But Hiromu sighed and said, "They're looking at you because you look different."

They arrived at the gate ten minutes after the last period bell rang. Youko was easily spotted from afar because of her jelly bun. Nick waved and called out to her. Youko turned her head and was surprised to see Nick and Hiromu by the gate. _Hiromu's here!, _she squeaked. She waved back at them enthusiastically.

They were supposed to meet at the center of the school grounds when Youko was blocked by Commander Kuroki's son. Takeru Kuroki seemed confident in his usual preppy attire and cheery attitude. His twin sister Taki wasn't there with him. Hiromu frowned by his sudden appearance while Nick scratched his head in bemusement.

"Youko-chan, let me walk you home" He offered.

"_chotto matte, _Takeru" Youko said, dancing her eyes from Takeru to Hiromu. She grabbed Takeru's arm and dragged him to a place where Hiromu and Nick couldn't hear them. True enough, both Hiromu and Nick couldn't hear even a single word. They watched while the two chatted from a tree nearby. Youko and Takeru exchanged smiles and laughter every now and then and Hiromu thought that it might be better for him to go away so that he wouldn't be much of a disturbance.

He turned to Nick and said, "Nick, bike-mode on". He was asking that Nick turn himself to a bike so that they could go home to the base by themselves. The buddyroid hesitated at first but Hiromu's facial expression was already flat so he turned himself into a bike even if he didn't want it to.

Hiromu was about to ride Nick when Youko came hurrying towards them. Takeru Kuroki passed by them but he never went closer. He just smiled, waved a hand and continued walking away to the bus stop.

Youko turned to Hiromu and asked, "_doko-ni?_ You're not going home without me aren't you?"

Nick stuttered for the right words. He hoped that Hiromu wouldn't be too blunt to hurt her feelings in his reply.

"We don't want to disturb you" Hiromu said objectively.

"But you're not." Youko insisted, "Besides, I think I'd want to eat crepe with right now."

"Crepe?" He said, raising his eyebrows, "But you just ate Usada's jelly bun. Just what kind of stomach do you have?"

Youko puffed her cheeks for the untimely slip-of-the-tongue remark. _Oh dear,_ Nick said to himself. The buddyroid wished he could vanish on the spot to give privacy to the two.

"And bring Kuroki-san with you. You're of the same age" Hiromu added, looking away.

Youko squinted her eyes and studied Hiromu's facial expression again. She never guessed that he'd be insecure about their four-year age gap. She remembered that he used to emphasize being an adult while he belittled her as a child. Hiromu was being jealous again and Youko found it too _kawaii_.

"I'm okay with a stupidly honest adult" Youko said, grabbing Hiromu by the hand.

_**What happened in the conversation between Youko and Takeru**_

"What is it that you're going to tell me, Youko-chan?" Takeru asked, sounding hopeful.

"We can't walk home together like we used to, Takeru" Youko replied, "It's not the same as when we're kids."

Youko thought that Takeru will be mad at her. But he remained his cool instead. "I see." He glanced at Hiromu from afar and said to her, "Could it be he replaced Hasegawa-_sensei_ already?" (**A/N: Hasegawa-**_**sensei **_**appeared on episode 37 of the Gobusters**).

"I admired Hasegawa-_sensei, _but it's not love" she corrected him.

"I envy Hiromu-san. But what I can do, he met you first" He noticed that the buddyroid turned himself into a bike upon Hiromu's command. "Hurry up, I think he's about to go away." He smiled widely and gestured Youko to walk away from him.

**Kitchen, EMC**

Growing up (and raised) by a sister, Hiromu sure knew how to cook well. Nick would oftentimes cook for him, but his _oneesan_ would always ask for his assistance in baking (**A/N: Did you remember the last episode of Gobusters? Hiromu helped his sister in baking a cake for Youko**). This time, he consented to Youko's request of making her a crepe as an afternoon snack.

Youko watched in silence while Hiromu stirred the ingredients for the crepe. Realizing that she had homework to do, she scattered her materials on the nook and began flipping from one page to another. Hiromu glanced at her when she was not looking and he smiled at her in discreet.

When he was done, he put the crepe on the plate and placed it delicately infront of her. He sat on the other side of the nook (just opposite her) and watched her do her homework. A naturally straightforward he was, he would point out her mistakes and help her correct it. Youko appreciated every help that came from him.

Youko's side bangs fell on her face and she still proceeded in answering her problem sets. Hiromu wondered why it didn't bother her—so he did an unnatural thing to do—he extended his hand and clipped her bangs on the side of her ear. It didn't help that his hand touched her face. Youko looked up to him and they stared together awkwardly in each other's eyes.

"_Gomen_" Hiromu said, removing his hand.

"Uhm, _ano…_" Youko struggled to say the right words, "there's something I'd like to tell you, Hiromu."

"What is it?" Hiromu asked, getting apprehensive.

"That I—"

All of a sudden, Ryuuji came with a folder in his hand. Hiromu and Youko jolted from their seats in surprise. "Ryuu-san!" they cried in unison. Ryuu-san returned their gaze in puzzlement. Bypassing the expression on their faces, Ryuuji turned to the untouched crepe that was lying beside Youko.

"That crepe looks exactly like Rika-san's" Ryuuji said.

"Ah" Hiromu said, nodding in agreement. Then he wondered as to why Ryuuji knew what his _oneesan's _cooking looked like. "Why do you know about that?" he added.

Ryuuji put a hand on Hiromu's shoulder and said, "Because she made one for me and I'm going to meet her tomorrow at a restaurant." He pointed the folder in his hand and smiled.

Hiromu and Youko looked at one another. Few years ago, Ryuu-san had a marriage interview (**A/N: The New Year episode of the Gobusters**). Both Hiromu and Youko were there to spy on Ryuu-san and Rika-san. And it seemed now—(judging from the folder that Ryuu-san pointed), that Ryuu-san would soon be getting another marriage interview…

Could it be with Hiromu's _oneesan_?...

**A/N: A preview for the next chapter:**

**"You tell Ryuu-san" Youko insisted as she pushed Hiromu through the door, "you're blunt"**

**Hiromu remembered the conversation that he had with Ryuuji before._ "Whoever likes Youko-chan will have to pass through me"_. Then Hiromu imagined being locked up in a big cage with chickens. He almost froze on the spot thinking about it but Youko whacked him at the back.**

**"Hey you—" Hiromu said, pulling Youko's cheeks together. "Am I the only one who doesn't want to hide this relationship?"**


	16. Chapter 16: When People Around You Knew

**Ch 16: When People around You Knew**

**What's the plan Hiromu?**

Hiromu and Youko stared at each other's eyes intently.

He pulled out a yellow memo pad from his pocket and flipped through its pages until he reached his desired leaf (**A/N: The yellow memo pad can be seen in ep.14 of Gobusters. It was Youko's, but it remained in Hiromu's possession for long**). Youko held her breath as he read the leaf in silence.

"Costumes, ready? Props?" Hiromu asked finally.

Youko pointed the black bag near her feet. Hiromu gave a nod and proceeded with his list. He added, "Map? Sweets?". Youko pointed her yellow purse which contained the map and her sweets for her fuel.

"I coordinated with Morishita-san, we won't be needing much of the map but just in case that we get—lost." He placed the memo pad in his pocket and sighed.

"Are you sure about this?" Youko asked, with a hint of uncertainty in her tone. "What if it's not a marriage interview?"

Hiromu paused for a while or so. "To tell you the truth—it won't matter to me if they'll end up in marriage anyway. Since it's Ryuu-san, I don't have any reservations."

"Then why do this?" Youko asked again, her facial expression sour. She thought that she won't be having any reservations either since Hiromu's _oneesan_ was a refined lady.

"I'm just…curious" Hiromu replied back. Surprised by his untimely curiousity, Youko put a palm on her forehead and sighed. "We won't be using Nick for our transportation otherwise Ryuu-san and _oneesan_ would notice. I'll drive" he added, pulling a car key from his pocket.

Sensing that the buddyroids were approaching from the hallway, Hiromu stood straight and added "_tokumei_: search the restaurant at _Asakusa_ and find out if Ryuu-san and _oneesan_ are dating". Youko immediately placed a thumbs-up sign on her chest and said, "_yokaii!_"

The plan: 1.) Search the restaurant at _Asakusa_ 2) Spy as pretend-couples 3) Exit the place without being noticed.

**Destination: **_**Asakusa**_

Hiromu and Youko went out of the car in their respective costumes. He wore an exact copy of a school uniform from a prestigious private school in Tokyo. Hers was the same but she held her hair in a ponytail and topped it with a black beret. They wore thick-framed glasses to hide their eyes. From behind a car, Youko used her _sougan _to investigate the restaurant from afar.

"Ryuu-san and Rika-san spotted" she confirmed, showing the picture of a couple emerging from an SUV.

"Good. We're at the right place" Hiromu said, taking the _sougan _from Youko so that he could inspect the place himself. From his observation, the restaurant's ambience was nostalgic/traditional but well-suited to the tastes of affluent people. _Typical oneesan's choice, _Hiromu thought to himself.

He and Youko waited for the couple to be seated. The couple occupied a small room with a low end table in the middle. Rika-san sat on the floor delicately while Ryuu-san did an Indian seat.

Hiromu and Youko moved stealthily inside the premises while the couple busied themselves with a menu. They chose the room next to Ryuu-san and Rika-san.

Hiromu pressed CALL MODE in his morphin brace and called Morishita-san. He asked the latter to activate Ryuu-san's CALL MODE so that they could hear their conversation. Morishita-san hesitated at first because it's illegal, but Hiromu insisted that he and Youko will take responsibility. Morishita-san gave in and thus Hiromu and Youko indulged themselves in their espionage.

_**Ryuuji**__: Nice place, isn't? _

_**Rika**__: Haii, Iwasaki-san. You chose this place really well._

_**Ryuuji**__: You may call me Ryuuji or Ryuu-san if you like._

_**Rika**__: That's how Hiromu and Youko-chan call you, ne?_

Hiromu and Youko giggled—while trying their best to contain their laughter. They indulged themselves in the conversation more until they reached a delicate discussion that might answer their forthcoming questions.

_**Rika**__: Did you receive the package I sent? How was it?_

_**Ryuuji**__: The crepe was delicious as your previous ones. Hiromu made an exact copy for Youko-chan. He learned a lot from you. _

_**Rika**__: Arigatou Ryuuji-san. It seemed that they're getting along well. _

_**Ryuuji**__: Haii. Hiromu seemed to treat Youko-chan like a little sister. _

_**Rika**__: and you seemed protective of Youko-chan, just like I am with Hiromu._

_**Ryuuji**__: Sou-desu. That's why whoever likes Youko-chan would have to pass through me._

_**Rika**__: If I may ask, did you happen to show them this folder?_

_**Ryuuji**__: I did, but they never looked inside. They sort of panicked without any reason, which made me think—_

_*pause*_

_**Ryuuji & Rika**__: They must have thought that this is a marriage interview!_

_**Ryuuji**__: My bad! I didn't tell them that we're working together on your next book which is a tribute to the gobusters! _

_**Rika**__: Don't panic Ryuuji-san. We'll just have to tell them later, ne?_

_**Ryuuji**__: Haii! _

Hiromu pressed CALL MODE again to end the espionage. Both he and Youko put a palm on the forehead and sighed. Ryuuji and Rika-san were just having a business date—no romantic ties as usual.

"I think Ryuu-san will grow old by himself" Youko commented. Hiromu gave a nod and thought about his _oneesan _growing old by herself too. "Shall we go now?" she added, standing up.

Hiromu grabbed her wrist to gesture her to sit down. "Let's enjoy the food here, Youko." He added, with a smile.

_**Asakusa **_**Shrine**

"Let's go to the temple Hiromu" Youko suggested. They didn't change their attire just in case Ryuuji and Rika-san would pass by at the temple too. The first thing that they did was to pay respect at the shrine.

The spring weather at the _Asakusa _shrine was nice and cold. Hiromu had to pull out his red scarf from his bag to put it on Youko.

Youko raised her eyebrows, "I gave you this" she said. Then she frowned for remembering the time when Hiromu hadn't communicated with her during her spring break—the time when she was supposed to confess her feelings to him.

"_daijobou?_" Hiromu asked.

Youko nodded and tried her best not to be sad. She saw game booths from the pathways of the shrine and invited him to play with her.

They tried the skill crane first. Hiromu had a flaw for skill cranes because he thought the cranes looked like chicken feet. Youko tried it herself and won a plush. Skill cranes for her were easy because she used to drag megazord parts using RH-03. For the first round, Hiromu-0 and Youko-1.

Next, they tried the game where a ball will be used to overthrow bottles. Hiromu tried it first and scored his first prize. Youko made also a successful attempt. For second round, Hiromu-1 and Youko-2.

The third game was target shooting. Target shooting was popular with the children because of the prizes offered by the game master. Hiromu and Youko pitied those who weren't accurate enough in shooting. They offered to play so that frustrated children may get a prize. It took them a while as more children requested that they play for them. When finished, a small girl tugged Youko's hand and said, "_arigatou oneesan. _You and _oniichan_ look good together."A small boy did the same with Hiromu's hand and said, "Your girlfriend is _kawaii_, _oniichan_".

Hiromu patted the boy's head and said, "She's not my girlfriend. But yes, she's _kawaii_"

The children looked at one another and dispersed one by one. Hiromu and Youko proceeded to walk on the pathway with less people. Hiromu glanced at his companion and he wondered why she wasn't smiling.

"_baka _Hiromu" Youko muttered, her face frowning.

"_doushite?_" He asked, his eyebrows raised. He retraced what he said earlier and added, "You don't want to be called cute?"

"Not that, _baka_" she retorted, her footsteps becoming heavier and heavier.

"then—was it about the relationship matter?"

Youko didn't reply back. But she stopped walking.

"Youko," He called, "why are you angry?"

Youko turned to face him. Her cheeks were red from being puffed. She put her hands on her sides and said, "because I have feelings for you, _baka,_ and you wouldn't notice!"

Hiromu felt himself froze on the spot. He waited patiently for her to resume talking again.

"I hated studying yet I proved to you that I could change. In fact I _enjoyed_ studying because it's an opportunity for me to be with you. It didn't matter if I stay up late or had trips to the library without being noticed by you. I cried really hard when I thought you liked phantom thief. I waited for you to come back from the country side just to let you know that I—that I _love_ you!"

_UZO! _She covered her face using her plush in shock.

Hiromu's mouth parted in surprise. For a few minutes, he tried to process everything that she had told him.

He moved closer to her and removed the plush from her face.

"Youko, _arigatou," _he said, grinning wide, "and _gomen _for making you suffer."

He waited for her to regain her composure from embarrassment. When she did, he held her hand as they exited the temple.

**What's the plan, Youko?**

Hiromu and Youko returned home with one thing in their mind: to ask Ryuuji and the others if they could date.

"You tell Ryuu-san" Youko insisted as she pushed Hiromu through the door of the engineering office, "you're blunt."

Hiromu remembered the conversation that he had with Ryuuji before (and of the one that Ryuuji had with his _oneesan_)._ "Whoever likes Youko-chan will have to pass through me"_. Then Hiromu imagined being locked up in a big cage with chickens. He almost froze on the spot thinking about it until Youko whacked him at the back.

"Hey you—" Hiromu said, pulling Youko's cheeks together. "Am I the only one who doesn't want to hide this relationship?"

Youko removed his hands forcefully from her face and pushed him more until they reached Ryuuji's desk. Ryuuji was there, browsing through Rika-san's drafts of her impending book entitled, _A Gobusters Tribute._

"Ryuu-san," Youko called, "Hiromu wants to tell you something."

"_Doyu-koto? _(what's going on?)" Ryuuji asked, closing the folder that he was browsing.

Hiromu cleared his throat and bowed low, "I would like—to take Youko out. O_negaishimasu_". He nudged her from his side so that she would imitate what he did.

"_Onegai, _Ryuu-san" Youko begged, her hands clasped in a praying position.

Ryuuji's eyes had gone wild. His eyes danced from Youko to Hiromu. "Youko likes you?!". _Why didn't I notice this before? _He said to himself.

It took a while for Ryuuji to digest everything. Hiromu and Youko looked more tense than ever.

"alright," Ryuuji said finally. _But I'll crack a prank to this kid first. _He turned to Hiromu and said, "whoever likes Youko-chan will have to pass through me. Let's check your weakpoint tomorrow, shall we?"

Hiromu thought of being locked up in a coop with wild and hungry chickens.

**A/N: A Preview**

**"that's-a cage" Youko said, nervousness building up in her heart. "Ryuu-san, you don't mean this, do you?"**

**Ryuuji didn't pay attention to what she said. "You're ready, Hiromu?" he asked. **

**"_yokaii_**" **Hiromu replied, looking resolved. **


	17. Chapter 17: The Many POVs

**CH 17: The Many POVs**

**A/N: This chapter is more like a product of my random thoughts—meaning, there's no plot. :P Three more chapters and this story will conclude. **

**POV 1: Usada & Youko**

Youko was having her usual "sweet time" at the nook. And by the very definition of a "sweet time", it's her spontaneous eating of her favorite snacks that help increase her inner battery. Usada's homemade flavored jelly buns were no less excluded from an array of sweets to choose from her basket. The other snacks take account of gobuster wafers and choco(s). She could eat at least five snacks in a single meal.

Usada her buddyroid appeared with an irksome expression in his face…White warm fumes bulleted from his ears.

"Youko!" He called, "what's the meaning of this? Why would you excuse from cram school today?" The kind of cram school that Usada mentioned was the tutorial between him and Youko. Cram school was to prepare Youko for her national tests and college entrance tests.

"Mou, let me rest Usada" she replied. Her morphin brace rang and she thought of only one person who would call her this time.

"_Youko, Nick and I will be arriving soon." _It was Hiromu. He was calling from the teleportation facility at the _Dainan_ District. Youko couldn't help grinning from hearing his voice.

"_Yokaii_, Hiromu" she replied, trying to contain herself from smiling excessively.

"_Speaking of which, have of you eaten your choco?" _

"I know that already!"

"_Just checking. Alright, I'll see you later. Take care, okay?_"

Youko's cheeks reddened. "Hiromu! Usada's here! Stop being..being.." She can't muster the right words to say.

"_being what? Sweet? Aren't you having your sweet time right now?" _He was chuckling at the end of the line.

"Fine, fine! Just go home already!" she retorted.

"_Yokaii". _

"Don't say something _baka,_ statements like you _love me _or something"

"_Huh? But you forced me to repeat that many times yesterday—" _

She dropped the call immediately and buried her face on her basket of sweets. Usada knew clearly what's going on. He knew that she liked that siscon eversince. But he wanted her to prioritize her studies more than everything else. "Youko, about your cram school—"

Youko showed a mock national test result to Usada straight away. The grade was above satisfactory. "You and siscon are both _obstinate_ about my studies."

Usada's fumes were gone instantaneously. For once, he thought Hiromu's tactics were likeable.

**POV 2: Ryuuji & Hiromu / Ryuuji & Commander Kuroki**

Hiromu appeared from the 01 shooter hatch of the Command Center. Ryuuji was there for the nth time, with his arms crossed. He had an unsmiling expression, which surprised Hiromu. But what Hiromu didn't know was Ryuuji was just making that facial expression up.

"Ryuu-san" Hiromu began, his tone just as humorless.

"Your weakpoint will be tested before sunset, at the rooftop" Ryuuji replied. Hiromu wondered the logic behind the weakpoint as his _golden ticket_ to date Youko. As if Ryuuji heard his thoughts, he answered, "Overcoming your weakpoint is a sign that you love Youko."

_Masaka—I would be really facing them this time!_ Hiromu thought.

"Ryuu-san, things like overcoming a weakpoint don't happen overnight" He commented, his eyebrows furrowed. "Besides, it's a side effect of our vaccine program."

_He got me there, _Ryuuji thought. It took him a while to refute what Hiromu said. He got an idea.

"In _love_, Hiromu, nothing is impossible" Ryuuji said, the lower end of his lip twitching as if signaling mischief. "Since you are a genius, things like this are just easy for you."

And that ended their conversation.

Hiromu bowed politely and exited the Command Center. Commander Kuroki went inside from a different entrance. He caught Ryuuji laughing hard at himself.

"Ryuuji, what's the matter?"

"It's Hiromu. He's asking permission to take Youko out—"

"WHAT?!"

_Uzo, I forgot that he had no idea._ Ryuuji thought. He stammered for the right words to say at Commander Kuroki, who had been Youko's father figure eversince. But it seemed that Commander Kuroki considered Youko's well being seriously. He figured that there were a lot of times when Youko showed her 'special' concern for Hiromu. Besides, Hiromu was not a bad choice either. He was after all the son of two great scientists that he respected so much.

"She's in the right age at least" He said, putting a hand under his chin. "So what are you jesting about?"

"I said that before he takes Youko out, he has to perform a test for me. I told him that I'll be testing his weakpoint at the rooftop before sunset. It's just a prank."

The older one was taken aback. "And Hiromu didn't sense through that suspicion with his good judgment?."

Ryuuji shook his head.

"Hmm. So that shows how special Youko is to him." Commander Kuroki said. Ryuuji smiled and nodded approvingly.

**POV 3: Nick & Usada / Hiromu, Ryuuji & Youko**

At the rooftop laid a large-scale cage that was covered in a black cloth. No one can peek through the inside, only Ryuuji can. Ryuuji emerged from the tent, looking amused at himself. Hiromu and Youko came into view together, the former nervous while the latter looking resolved. Usada and Nick followed and they stayed at the rear end of the rooftop where no one could hear them.

"So we'll be in-laws then" Nick said, to Usada's surprise.

"What are you talking about? No marriage for Youko until she finishes college!" Usada retorted.

Nick imagined being under one roof with Usada:

_**Usada:**__ Youko, your snacks are ready._

_**Youko:**__ gomen Usada, Nick made choco for me._

_**Usada:**__ *gasped* but I'm the one preparing snacks for you!_

_**Youko:**__ *chuckled* Don't be mad Usada. Hiromu asked him to do so._

_*Usada's fumes bulleted from his ears. _

Nick brushed away his bubble thoughts literally by swapping them in the mid-air. Usada thought how dense the buddyroid could be. Whatever Nick's thoughts were, Usada wouldn't dare to ask.

Meanwhile, Ryuuji confronted Hiromu and Youko with what the former would be facing.

"that's—a cage" Youko said, nervousness building up in her heart. "Ryuu-san, you don't mean this, do you?"

Ryuuji didn't pay attention to what she said. "You're ready, Hiromu?" he asked.

"Yokaii" Hiromu replied, looking resolved.

Ryuuji led him to the cage covered with black cloth. Hiromu advanced inside.

Hiromu entered the cage. It completely dark.

A light flickered in the middle and Hiromu could see a figure wrapped in a black cloth as well. It was moving leisurely, producing sounds of _cluck, cluck, cluck. _He closed his eyes as the sound grew louder. He thought that the sound appeared weird though.

Then…

The clothed figure materialized. It was J! in a chicken suit (**A/N: This chicken suit was worn by Jin Masato in one of the episodes of Gobusters**). Hiromu hesitated to open his eyes but he sensed that it was not a real chicken. He opened his eyes and he saw that it was J. The chicken costume made him froze a bit though.

"J! You—" Hiromu couldn't finish his words. His whole demeanor remained stationary. He thought of Youko and he closed his eyes forcefully. J was doing the chicken dance around him for five minutes. At the expiration of the frozen period, Hiromu removed J's costume without looking. He took the black cloth and covered the costume wholly.

"Quite a prank we have here!"Hiromu exclaimed, his reason fading out.

He and J exited the cage. Youko came in a hurry towards him.

"Hiromu, _daijobou?_" Youko asked. Hiromu smiled at her and nodded.

"Let me show you my pet" J said. He took a small box with holes as small as three centimeters. He opened the box and out came a chick. The chick flew and dropped on Hiromu's hand. Upon seeing this, Hiromu froze and collapsed on the spot. The chick flew away to J.

"J! Seriously?!" Ryuuji said. Even he couldn't believe that the buddyroid had Jin Masato's character in him. As far as he's concerned, he didn't ask J to bring a baby chick. But maybe, _ just maybe_, the buddyroid got fond of the creature when Ryuuji asked him to observe chickens.

Youko carried Hiromu using one arm. She shot a glare at Ryuuji and J before heading to the infirmary.

**POV 4: Hiromu & Youko**

Hiromu fractured his arm back there—because the way he collapsed was painful. Youko remained faithful to his side at the infirmary bed. She never let go of his free hand. Hiromu appreciated the gesture. It was as if the whole prank thing was a blessing.

"Ryuu-san apologizes for the prank," Youko said, "What J did was not from the plan."

"Does that mean he approves of our relationship?" He asked.

"He sensed it through you when you thought I dated someone from the amusement park" She replied, smiling.

Hiromu remembered that (**A/N: Ch: 9, White Day**). Then Commander Kuroki and Usada's faces came into his mind. "How about Commander Kuroki and Usada?"

"Usada's fine with it as long as I finish college. With Commander Kuroki, I'm not sure—although Ryuu-san tells it's okay." Hiromu let out a sigh of relief. With three of Youko's guardians approving of their relationship, he thought things between him and Youko will go smoothly.

"_Uzo_, I have to finish my homework." Youko said, removing her hand from his, abruptly.

Hiromu leaped from the bed and grabbed her hand. "Let me help." He said, smiling.

**A/N: A preview.**

**She grabbed his collar and said, "it's not funny Hiromu."**

**Her face was only a few inches away from his. He leaned more, trying to close the gap in between them. But he gave her a chance to pull away. **

**She tried to back off for just a few centimeters.**

**Then she saw that he was smiling widely. **_**Or was he grinning?**_

"**Say it Youko. Say that you love me." **

**Without thinking or hesitation in her part, she closed the gap between them by placing her mouth on his. **


	18. Chapter 18: Fastforward

**Ch 18: Fastforward**

**A/N: This chapter shows what have been materializing in Hiromu and Youko's respective careers. The chapter after this might be the conclusion. **

**Testing Center**

Eyebrows furrowed and her head tilted a bit to the right, Youko gestured a hand to Hiromu and said: "You don't have to walk me to the testing center, Hiromu. I'll be fine."

Hiromu shrugged and returned the same frown at her, "What are you talking about?".

"I thought you're sending me off for my college entrance exam?"

"My work for this day is in that building, Youko". He replied. He pointed the building where Youko's test will be held. It also had a sign which labeled: EMC Tokyo Subfacility 2.

Youko's cheeks went pink. She felt embarrassed and infuriated at the same time but she won't be defeated by her emotions. She had to focus herself in order to pass her entrance exam in a university affiliated by the EMC. In this way, she'll be closer to her dream of becoming a scientist-pilot like her mother.

Youko had months of preparing herself for this day. Usada and Hiromu were both obstinate in giving her mock tests almost daily (to her frustration, of course). She and Hiromu had been dating for more than five months now—and in those five months, Hiromu made sure that Youko was able to study smoothly.

Youko had her cheeks puffed for more than 30 seconds now. Hiromu chuckled. "I'm just kidding, you don't have to be serious." He moved closer and held her in tight hug. "_Ganbatte, _Youko. Do your best."

"Err—Hiromu, Ryuu-san and the others are looking" Her eyes pointed to the figures inside a black van which contained Ryuuji and the buddyroids.

_I know, _Hiromu thought. But instead of saying that, he muttered teasingly, "do you want me to kiss you infront of them?"

"Huh?! N—no!" She thought of their first non-accidental kiss at the shooting grounds in EMC. This thought made her lose her focus on the impending exam.

Hiromu pulled away from the hug and grinned. Then he made a quick kiss on her cheek.

Youko turned red as she motioned a palm on her face.

The black van was shaking, as if Ryuuji and Usada were complaining.

**Newly Re-Established Teleportation Facility, Dainan**

"I want to thank you for helping me." Youko held a white envelope to his face and grinned.

Hiromu opened the envelope and read the content silently. It read that Youko successfully made it to the science & engineering department of the school of her choice. Hiromu tried to contain himself from screaming in delight, so he just managed to smile widely.

"Congratulations, Youko" he said freely.

Youko read Hiromu's id. It was labeled: Hiromu Sakurada, Center Chief-in Training.

"_Uzo!_ You reached that far?!" She exclaimed.

Hiromu looked at the white gown that he was wearing. Truly, he was living the dream now. And Youko herself was on her way of becoming who she wanted to be. Any senior from the EMC could be the Center Chief at Dainan, but nobody was willing enough to apply for the spot (**A/N: Since Dainan was known to be the place where Messiah first materialized**). Since Hiromu was known for his outstanding theoretical and practical performances (and for being former Center Chief Sakurada's son), he was trusted to be up for the job. Youko wanted to work at the Dainan too, because it contained memories of her late mother and Jin Masato. But she had to spend two years in college first before working as intern at Dainan.

"So where are we going?" he asked, since Youko hinted that she'll treat him for helping her study for her college entrance exam.

"Let's eat hotpot" she replied and clutched Hiromu's arm lightheartedly.

**Youko's College Years**

At the age of 20, Youko seemed to grow more matured and independent. Her childlike tendencies were still intact, but she managed to be more serious in her academic load and in her psycho-emotional well-being. Her arguments with Usada were lessened and she gave her utmost respect to Ryuuji's marriage interviews.

Meanwhile, Hiromu was just as successful in being the Center Chief at Dainan. With Nakamura-san and Morishita-san (and the copies of classified research left by his parents), they were able to discover both dimensions and subdimension in the hyperspace. Hiromu was also successful in creating vaccine programs that will prevent any of Messiah's kind from appearing. This was coordinated with Ryuuji, who was working alongside with him at Dainan. Ryuuji was able to form megazords, buster machines and buddyroids that have skills in land, air and water, with the help of his buddyroid Gorisaki. Since Youko was not working at the Dainan yet, Hiromu and J took turns to test Ryuuji's newly-made machines.

* * *

Youko was doing notes under a tree when she noticed a small commotion from the rear part of the college grounds. Since it's only natural for her to act whenever necessary, she grabbed her things quickly and ran to the place where college students (most of them from the science and engineering department) were growing in number. She looked up high in the sky to see an eagle buster machine (or E-06) flying towards them. _It's only Hiromu or J piloting that, _she thought.

E-06 was as big as RH-03. It remained in the mid-air as the pilot emerged from its flap. It was J.

"J!" Youko called, "What are you doing here?"

Youko's classmates looked at her. They didn't know that she was once a part of the Gobusters Team. J introduced himself conceitedly like he used to. He received a whack in the head just as when more crowds were being pulled by his presence.

"What are you doing here, J?" Youko asked again.

"Center Chief Sakurada says you pilot this machine and go to Dainan straight away" he answered.

_But I'm not allowed to pilot them, yet, _she thought. J activated his marker system and his own buster machine appeared immediately. He rode the machine and said to Youko, "To Dainan, Miss Youko!" and vanished right after.

Youko gawked at the flying E-06. It was as if Hiromu calculated accurately that E-06 will draw a crowd (including her) and that only a superhuman with a remarkable jumping ability may effectively ride it in the mid-air without any use of the buster weapons.

"Ah, _mou, _what was he planning to?!" She didn't mind the restless crowd and jumped in the mid-air to the flap of E-06. The cockpit and the controls were different from RH-03, but nevertheless the machine was made to fly. She stared at the intimidating eagle buddyroid (named Aquila) and said, "I'm Youko, _yoroshiku_".

* * *

Youko arrived at the helipad of the Teleportation Facility's rooftop. Hiromu was there alone and Youko could see that he was sporting an annoying grin from his face.

"_Doyu-koto?_" She asked infuriatingly, "You're the center chief yet you made me pilot a first generation buster machine without approval from the engineering department."

_E-06 looks like a ch—chick—_Hiromu tried to suppress the thought of the similar features between E-06 and a chicken. He didn't want to tell Youko that it was a corroborating reason, either. But his primary reason was…

"I know you miss piloting them" he said. And true enough, Youko was not allowed to pilot buster machines unless she reinstated herself as pilot. Her pilot duties were gone right after they defeated Vaglass. Still, Hiromu made a bold move. And on the top of it, it was illegal. If the EMC knew about it, her dream of being a scientist-pilot may never happen.

"_Daijobou,_ I've covered for you already." He showed a letter to her that said: Youko Usami, assistant to Center Chief Hiromu Sakurada in piloting newly buster machines made by Ryuuji Iwasaki.

_Uzo, _she thought. "Is that possible? Can you just hire a first year college student?—Hiromu, don't forget—most from the EMC knew that we're in a relationship."

He wanted to tell her that not many people would want to work at Dainan because of its reputation from many years back. But again, it was just another corroborating reason. The primary reason was to train her in advance of her duties as scientist-pilot. "_Otosan _and _Okasan_ worked in the same department yet they were not separated from one another" he replied.

Youko puffed her cheeks. When he knew that she couldn't refute anymore, he chuckled.

She moved closer to him and grabbed the collar of his white polo.

She said, "It's not funny Hiromu."

Her face was only a few inches away from his. He leaned more, trying to close the gap in between them. But he gave her a chance to pull away.

She tried to back off for just a few centimeters.

Then she saw that he was smiling widely. _Or was he grinning annoyingly again?_

"Say it Youko. Say that you _love_ me"

Without thinking or hesitation in her part, she closed the gap between them by placing her mouth on his. Hiromu was surprised. But slowly, he closed his eyes and placed his arms around her waist. Youko was still tugging on his collar but her grip became loose. They enjoyed every moment lingered for the kiss. Whenever he or she would try to pull away, the other one would pull him/her back.

"Youko…" he muttered between air. He smiled when she pulled his collar again for another lasting kiss.

"Youko…" he called again. But he didn't want to stop her. He was too absorbed.

And it seemed that she didn't want to stop him either.

Before his reason faded, he tapped her shoulder and Youko's eyes opened a little. She followed where Hiromu's hand was pointing. He was pointing to E-06.

"Ryuu-san's..watching..us" he uttered finally.

Youko pulled back instantly. "HUH?!"

"_Gomen,_" Hiromu said in a chuckle, "I wasn't expecting _this_."

* * *

**A/N: Preview**

**Usada and Nick were arguing over the word, "wedding". Youko remembered how she wanted one of her own. When she was in elementary, she thought of being wed to Ryuuji. And when she reached middle school, her imagination wondered to Hasegawa-sensei. **

**Nick was imagining things again. And that included being under one roof with Usada: **

**_Usada: Youko, why would Nick be coming to us at the amusement park?_**

**_Youko: The three of us will have a bonding time together. _**

**_Usada: But you only spend time at the park with me! You always consider that siscon and not me!_**

**_Youko: Things change, Usada. We're one family now. _**

**But he thought again, would Hiromu and Youko want their buddyroids to be with them when they start a family? **


	19. Chapter 19: Conclusion

**Ch 19: Conclusion**

**A/N: Sorry for the fastforward. :P **

* * *

Youko was doing her research at the hallway when she noticed Nick and Usada arguing over a TV program. The TV program was entitled, "Marry early or Marry later", which discussed about the pros and cons of marrying early (or later) and the factors affecting it such as economic, psychological, financial and societal conditions. Nick was on the side of marrying early for longer chances of family time while Usada argued for marrying later because of reasons such as financial stability and psycho-emotional readiness.

As for Youko, she can't decide either. She remembered how she wanted a wedding of her own. When she was in elementary, she thought of being wed to Ryuuji (but that was a mere childish attraction back there). And when she reached middle school, her imagination wondered to Hasegawa-sensei.

Nick was imagining things again. And that included being under one roof with Usada:

**_Usada:_**_ Youko, why would Nick be coming with us at the amusement park?_

**_Youko:_**_ The three of us will have a bonding time together. _

**_Usada:_**_ But you only spend time at the park with me! You always consider that siscon and not me!_

**_Youko:_**_ Things change, Usada. We're one family now. _

But he thought again, would Hiromu and Youko want their buddyroids to be with them when they start a family?

Ryuuji emerged from the other end of the hallway with Gorisaki in his heels. He paused for a moment to look at the TV program that caught much attention to Nick and Usada. As if reading Nick's thoughts (or worries about being excluded from Hiromu's future family), he said unreservedly, "When I get married, I'll still bring Gorisaki with me. I'm sure Youko-chan and Hiromu would do the same."

Gorisaki looked like he was about to protest. The buddyroid refuted, "But that's being too reliable on us, don't you think?" Ryuuji gawked at him and hit him with a clipboard.

"No one's getting marriiiieeeed!" Usada shriked. The same white fumes bulleted from his ears. Ryuuji and the others looked flabbergasted by Usada's reaction. Youko on the other hand suppressed her laughter by covering her face with a book.

* * *

**Three years after**

Three years have passed and Youko just earned her bachelor's degree. It's been three years since she worked part-time at the Teleportation Facility at Dainan district as assistant researcher & first generation test pilot. Finally, she could reinstate herself both as full-time scientist and pilot respectively. Ryuuji, Usada and Hiromu could have never been happier and proud.

To celebrate Youko's graduation and installation as full-timer at Dainan, Hiromu and Rika-san made a cake for her. They gathered the whole team at the picnic grounds near the river for the celebration. Youko remembered how they used to have their picnics there when the Special Missions was still active as a unit.

The sun may have set down, but it was still a fine night to hold a picnic.

The buddyroids enjoyed the stars while lying on the grass. Usada taught J about the different constellations in the sky. Nick was listening and stealing a glance from Hiromu at the same time. Hiromu caught his glance and gave him an OK sign. He looked resolved but his anxiety was building up.

Gorisaki busied himself with the grill with Hiromu. The Morishita couple, Ryuuji, Rika-san and Youko were discussing about classified researches found at the ruins from Dainan. Youko had another slice of cake and an icing reached her nose. She cupped her pockets for her "treasured item" (Hiromu's handkerchief) but she can't find it. Perplexed, she wiped her nose with her sleeve and stood up immediately—her sight darting off to almost anywhere.

"What's wrong Youko?" Hiromu asked as he removed his apron and handed it to Gorisaki. Youko didn't pay any attention to him—she was busy searching on the grass for the handkerchief. Panic started to build up from her face. She tried to contain it so that the others won't notice.

She widened her search through the soft grass by almost reaching the river bank. Hiromu trailed after her.

"Youko?"

"I lost it—it's just with me a while ago. Your handkerchief" She replied fast. Her eyes began to get watery.

"_Daijobou._ I'll help you look for it." He drew closer and motioned a hand to pat her head.

Youko rolled her fists to get some resolve. Then after some seconds of retrieving her composure, she and Hiromu walked some few meters away from the team.

"Over there!" Hiromu pointed. The blue-striped handkerchief was found resting near a flowerbed. Youko hurried over to get a hold of it. When she picked it up, she saw a silver object that emerged from it—but it fell on the grass. Squinting (because it's dark), she cupped the grass and found it.

"_Uzo!_" Youko gasped. The silver object was a ring. She turned to look at her comrades, the boys were whistling already. Hiromu sat on the grass beside her. Apprehension was easily read from his face.

"Well?" he uttered.

"Well what?" Youko asked, still gazing at the object from her hand.

"How do I put this—" Hiromu stuttered for words.

"You're used to being blunt! Just say it!" she kidded.

Hiromu put his hands on Youko's shoulders. He inhaled deeply and said, "Will you—"

She waited eagerly for the next set of words. _Could this be a proposal?_

"…marry me?—not that I'm expecting your answer right away—I mean—the wedding can wait and—it's just an engagement—that's if, you say yes." He said these as if his superhuman speed was transferred to his way of talking.

She placed her hands on both sides of his face (to calm him) and smiled, "_Haii_" she replied. Both her gaze and touch were soothing that it almost distracted him from the spot.

"_Honto?_" he asked. _Just to make sure. _

She nodded, placed the ring on her index finger and showed it to him.

He hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. The whole team cheered and congratulated them from afar. Ryuuji was supported by Rika-san from crying while Nick and Usada shook their heads approvingly.

* * *

**Four more years after**

The Teleportation Facility at Dainan was as productive as the main EMC branch. Prospective employees were no longer afraid of applying or transferring there. It was as lively as it did before, with megazords filling up tanks and buddyroids (led by J) spread out to help with the daily duties. Ryuuji was very contented with his own life in designing and creating more machines with Gorisaki. Hiromu was just as persistent with rather reckless researches and overall supervision of the center. Youko had the best of both worlds in assisting Hiromu and testing Ryuuji's machines.

Meanwhile, Nick and Usada were hurrying after a three year old kid in the grounds of the facility. The toddler was potentially good-looking in his spiky hair and pale complexion. Nick and Usada couldn't catch on him much—because the boy combined both his superhuman speed and jumping ability to escape.

"_Matte _Hiroyo-kun!" Usada called. Usada had to be carried by Nick after the exhaustion from jumping.

Hiroyo paused when he saw Youko writing on her clipboard from a bench. He sat beside her and rested his palm on hers.

"_Okaasan, _have you eaten your snack?" he asked worryingly.

Youko smiled and patted the boy's head. "_My, my, my, _you're quite the obstinate type, aren't you?" Hiroyo returned her smile and nodded.

Hiromu appeared behind them and said, "Why wouldn't he? He got most of his features from me." He bent down and messed his son's hair even more. Hiroyo did look more like Hiromu. But he got Youko's childlike spirit and playful stubbornness.

Nick and Usada finally caught up with them. They had to occupy the bench next to the Sakuradas. They looked so worn-out that Hiromu and Youko could only give sympathetic stares.

Nick and Usada were faithful buddies to Hiroyo as well. When Hiroyo's parents were busy from work, the two buddyroids were always present to look after him. In fact, the two buddyroids did manage to live with each other under one roof (there were adjustments in the beginning, of course) and the Sakuradas were ever thankful for their companionship.

Hiroyo's attention was caught by the buddyroids who were putting up a sign on a new building. Without asking permission from his parents, he went off to see them. Youko turned to Hiromu and said, "Run after him, _onegaii_".

Hiromu smiled at her and nodded. "We'll be right back." Before setting off, he turned back to her, placed his mouth on hers and muttered, "I love you."

"I love you too siscon" Youko replied cheerfully.

* * *

**A/N.: And so this is the concluding chapter to the story that I made. I'd like to thank those who added this story to their list of their favorites, to those who followed and reviewed it and also to those viewed it. I enjoyed working on this and I appreciated those who've been consistently supporting my fics. ****_Domo Arigatou!_**** J **


End file.
